Boom in Gay-Friendly Theatre (Argentina)

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Boom in Gay-Friendly Theatre
By Sebastián Lacunza


BUENOS AIRES, Feb 8, 2011 (IPS) - The nearly 200 theatres in the Argentine capital have been staging an increasing number of plays exploring gender identity or specifically gay issues in recent years, in mainstream, fringe and state-run productions.

Dozens of plays dramatising stories about gay people were produced last year, including "Juicio a lo natural" by Nicolás Pérez Costa, "Feizbuk" (Facebook) by José María Muscari, "Puto" (Faggot) by Alejandro Mateo and "Marejada" by Diego Beares -- all by Argentine playwrights -- and "Gotas que caen sobre piedras calientes" (Water Drops on Burning Stones) by German playwright Rainer Fassbinder.

Now playing in the southern hemisphere summer are "Loco Afán" (Mad Desire) by Chilean author Pedro Lemebel, presented in Buenos Aires and directed by a young Uruguayan playwright and actor, Gerardo Begérez, who took the Argentine capital's theatre scene by storm in 2010 with his adaptations of Lemebel's "Tengo miedo, torero" (Bullfighter, I'm Afraid), "Desamor. Mundos paralelos" (Indifference: Parallel Worlds) by Ulises Puiggrós, and "Reglas, usos y costumbres en la sociedad moderna" (Rules, Manners and Customs in Modern Society) by French author Jean-Luc Lagarce, all of which deal with homosexual relationships.

In a related sign of increased openness to people with different sexual orientations, Argentina became the first Latin American nation to legalise gay marriage in July 2010, granting same-sex couples the same legal rights, responsibilities and protections as heterosexual married couples. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=54403