Gay-Themed Play Miraculously Staged in Uganda

An actor from The River and the Mountain

A play about a young gay man is being staged in Uganda, a nation so homophobic that a law condemning certain gay people to death was recently weighed by its parliament.

The River and the Mountain recently premiered at a little-known theater in Kampala, the capital of the East African nation. Written by a British playwright, the play centers on a 29-year-old gay man. The protagonist's mother attempts to change her son's homosexuality through so-called conversion therapy, a private dancer, and a witch doctor; all fail. Showing the dangers of stigma and hate, the play's end depicts the gay man murdered by those who work for him.

The play's British producers attempted to stage The River and the Mountain at Uganda's national theater, but were blocked by government officials. There is still fear that Ugandan police will break up the more modest production going on currently.

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