For the first time, a theatre play on homosexuality is being staged in Uganda,
a country which has proposed an Anti-Homosexuality Bill. With The River & the
Mountain, the actors hope to make their audience reflect. "In Ugandan society,
we hide so many things. Why not talk about it?", says one of the actors.
By Mark Schenkel, Kampala
28-year-old award-winning actor Okuyo Joel Atiku Prynce is the first-ever
actor to play a homosexual on stage in Uganda. He has already received numerous
criticisms about his latest move in his career, among others being accused of
"being funded by gay lobby groups." But that does not deter him. "I am not into
gay advocacy. Although with this play, we do want to make people understand
that we are all human," he says. "We should not judge, segregate, harm or kill
others."
Condemnation
Uganda is a country where gays and same-sex relationships are far from being
accepted and are regularly condemned by conservative pastors and politicians.
The River & the Mountain premiered on 18 August in a little-known cultural
centre in Kampala called Tilapia and runs until Sunday 26. It is a
collaboration between a group of local actors, Oxford-educated poet, Beau
Hopkins, who wrote the script, and Tilapia manager, David Cecil. The play will
"hopefully get people to talk about homosexuality, which already helps to
reduce the stigma," says Phiona Katushabe (24), one of the originators.
Avoiding ideology
However, it has not created the sort of public stir that may have been
expected given its controversial subject. Those involved in the play believe it
is partially because it has deliberately been kept low-key. Not out of fear for
repercussions but "to avoid being dragged into the ideological debate with, on
one side, Uganda's vocal pastors and, on the other, the international liberal
human rights organizations," says Katushabe. "All we want is our audience to
make up its own mind."
But, apparently, it did cause a sense of uneasiness at the National Theatre,
Kampala's main venue. At the last minute, the Theatre backed away from hosting
the play, after having agreed earlier to do so. The actors were told a
"clearance" from Uganda's Media Council was not issued. "The refusal of
National Theatre only motivated me further,"says Rehema Nanfuka (26), a well-
known actress and radio-presenter who is in the cast.
Challenging beliefs
The River & the Mountain revolves around Samson (played by Prynce), a young
man who is focused on his career in a cooking oil factory, much to the despair
of his mother. All she wants for him is a suitable wife. Samson is forced to
'cure' himself of his homosexuality by undergoing treatment with a pastor, a
witch-doctor and a Ssenga - a 'sex-aunt' who, in traditional Buganda-culture,
initiates young girls. All attempts fail because Samson says that being
homosexual is "how I was born."
In the end, after having had his coming-out, Samson is killed by his own
factory workers with machetes. But it is his girlfriend Aidah (played by Aidah
Nalubowa) who brings hope to the story because she accepts Samson's the way he
is. Aidah represents the 'river' which stands for openness, for being connected
to the open seas that historically brought new influences. The 'mountain'
symbolizes secluded, withdrawn people, scared of the unknown.
Understanding
Katushabe: "Some of my anti-gay friends who have seen the play now show more
understanding." Nanfuka says the same goes for her. "I never had any problem
with gay people but I used to ask myself why they should feel the need to come
out. Now, I feel they should. In Ugandan society, we hide so many things. Why
not talk about it?"
The River & the Mountain is attracting several dozens of spectators every
evening, including many Western expatriates. The good thing is that so far,
only two members of the public have walked out of the performance. The first
one, an anti-gay and the second a pro-gay. The latter was apparently too
affected by Samson's fate.
The last two performances, this weekend, will be at MishMash, an uptown
cultural venue mainly visited by expatriates. Are the organizers not afraid
they will give conservative Ugandans one more reason to believe that gay people
are 'stooges' of ultra-liberal Westerners with a secret 'gay-agenda'?" Prynce's
response: "That argument is being used against us anyway. I am not afraid. This
play will help change Ugandan society."
Fonte: http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/first-ever-gay-play-uganda
Pubblicato a Lorenzo Bernini
a country which has proposed an Anti-Homosexuality Bill. With The River & the
Mountain, the actors hope to make their audience reflect. "In Ugandan society,
we hide so many things. Why not talk about it?", says one of the actors.
By Mark Schenkel, Kampala
28-year-old award-winning actor Okuyo Joel Atiku Prynce is the first-ever
actor to play a homosexual on stage in Uganda. He has already received numerous
criticisms about his latest move in his career, among others being accused of
"being funded by gay lobby groups." But that does not deter him. "I am not into
gay advocacy. Although with this play, we do want to make people understand
that we are all human," he says. "We should not judge, segregate, harm or kill
others."
Condemnation
Uganda is a country where gays and same-sex relationships are far from being
accepted and are regularly condemned by conservative pastors and politicians.
The River & the Mountain premiered on 18 August in a little-known cultural
centre in Kampala called Tilapia and runs until Sunday 26. It is a
collaboration between a group of local actors, Oxford-educated poet, Beau
Hopkins, who wrote the script, and Tilapia manager, David Cecil. The play will
"hopefully get people to talk about homosexuality, which already helps to
reduce the stigma," says Phiona Katushabe (24), one of the originators.
Avoiding ideology
However, it has not created the sort of public stir that may have been
expected given its controversial subject. Those involved in the play believe it
is partially because it has deliberately been kept low-key. Not out of fear for
repercussions but "to avoid being dragged into the ideological debate with, on
one side, Uganda's vocal pastors and, on the other, the international liberal
human rights organizations," says Katushabe. "All we want is our audience to
make up its own mind."
But, apparently, it did cause a sense of uneasiness at the National Theatre,
Kampala's main venue. At the last minute, the Theatre backed away from hosting
the play, after having agreed earlier to do so. The actors were told a
"clearance" from Uganda's Media Council was not issued. "The refusal of
National Theatre only motivated me further,"says Rehema Nanfuka (26), a well-
known actress and radio-presenter who is in the cast.
Challenging beliefs
The River & the Mountain revolves around Samson (played by Prynce), a young
man who is focused on his career in a cooking oil factory, much to the despair
of his mother. All she wants for him is a suitable wife. Samson is forced to
'cure' himself of his homosexuality by undergoing treatment with a pastor, a
witch-doctor and a Ssenga - a 'sex-aunt' who, in traditional Buganda-culture,
initiates young girls. All attempts fail because Samson says that being
homosexual is "how I was born."
In the end, after having had his coming-out, Samson is killed by his own
factory workers with machetes. But it is his girlfriend Aidah (played by Aidah
Nalubowa) who brings hope to the story because she accepts Samson's the way he
is. Aidah represents the 'river' which stands for openness, for being connected
to the open seas that historically brought new influences. The 'mountain'
symbolizes secluded, withdrawn people, scared of the unknown.
Understanding
Katushabe: "Some of my anti-gay friends who have seen the play now show more
understanding." Nanfuka says the same goes for her. "I never had any problem
with gay people but I used to ask myself why they should feel the need to come
out. Now, I feel they should. In Ugandan society, we hide so many things. Why
not talk about it?"
The River & the Mountain is attracting several dozens of spectators every
evening, including many Western expatriates. The good thing is that so far,
only two members of the public have walked out of the performance. The first
one, an anti-gay and the second a pro-gay. The latter was apparently too
affected by Samson's fate.
The last two performances, this weekend, will be at MishMash, an uptown
cultural venue mainly visited by expatriates. Are the organizers not afraid
they will give conservative Ugandans one more reason to believe that gay people
are 'stooges' of ultra-liberal Westerners with a secret 'gay-agenda'?" Prynce's
response: "That argument is being used against us anyway. I am not afraid. This
play will help change Ugandan society."
Fonte: http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/first-ever-gay-play-uganda
Pubblicato a Lorenzo Bernini