KAMPALA, Uganda — The British producer of a play about being gay in Uganda is in jail pending his trial on charges that he had the work performed without official authorization.
David Cecil appeared in court Thursday charged with ‘‘disobeying lawful orders’’ from the Uganda Media Council, which says he staged ‘‘The River and the Mountain’’ despite orders to the contrary.
Cecil’s lawyer said his client was not released on bail because his passport, wanted by the magistrate, had been confiscated by the police.
Cecil told the Associated Press that the play, whose main character is a gay businessman who finally gets killed by his own employees, was performed eight times at little-known theaters in Kampala last month. The play was praised by gay-rights activists who said it was ‘‘revolutionary’’ in the way it provoked an examination of common thinking about gays. But the play failed to make it to Uganda’s national theater, where producers rejected the script.
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Homosexuals are highly stigmatized in Uganda.