The Criminal Queerness Festival is back at Lincoln Center and will take place in the David Rubenstein Atrium as part of the Summer for the City LGBTQIA+ Pride celebration!
See staged readings of new plays by Muleme Steven of Uganda and Jonathan Opinya Wamukota of Kenya and a full production of Achiro P. Olwoch’s The Survival.
This event is FREE and open to the public. Seating and entry are first-come, first-served; the line will form at the Atrium’s entrance on Broadway, between 62nd and 63rd Street.
ABOUT THE CRIMINAL QUEERNESS FESTIVAL
As the official theater partner of NYC Pride, National Queer Theater is proud to present the fourth annual Criminal Queerness Festival. By presenting the work of international queer artists alongside activist talks, this international theater festival uplifts queer and trans stories from around the world and raises awareness about criminalization. Artistic Freedom Initiative is a proud partner of National Queer Theater and the Criminal Queerness Festival.
TUESDAY, JUNE 21st at 7:30pm
COURAGE REBIRTH BY MULEME STEVEN
A STAGED READING DIRECTED BY ANN C. JAMES
STARRING: Lebene Ayivor, Abdu Garmazi, Gregory Marlow, Tyler Bey, Rodney Jackson, Mar’Shon Dalton, Janet Kilonzo, Rodney Jackson, Karl Hawkins
When lesbian singer Fawzia is displaced by political unrest in her home country of Somalia, she finds asylum and an audience for her songs of hope at a refugee camp in Kenya. There, she garners the support and friendship of LGBT Rights activist David Kato, who helps her get to Uganda. When one of her songs goes viral, she is forced to navigate her newfound attention under violent circumstances.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22nd at 7:30pm
THREE SHORT PLAYS BY JONATHAN OPINYA WAMUKOTA
STAGED READINGS DIRECTED BY RAZ GOLDEN
STARRING: Lebene Ayivor, AnJu Hyppolite, Karl Hawkins, Abdu Garmazi, Gregory Marlow, Rodney Jackson, Tyler Bey
A compassionate confrontation with death. A blossoming love squashed by hatred. A star-crossed romance torn apart by secrets. In three short plays, Stargazer, Beginner’s Luck, and Waiting for Gordon, Jonathan Opinya Wamukota of Kenya uses his poetic style to craft a picture of the realities of queer love in a society that punishes same-sex romance.
FRIDAY, JUNE 24th at 7:30pm
THE SURVIVAL BY ACHIRO P. OLWOCH
DIRECTED BY JACOB BASRI
STARRING: Janet Kilonzo, Lebene Ayivor, AnJu Hyppolite, Nessa Amherst, Tyler Bey, Gregory Marlow
Achan, feeling the pressure of being unmarried at 27, falls for Oyat after meeting him at a bar. Unbeknownst to Achan, Oyat is hoping she will be a surrogate for him and his boyfriend’s child. When Achan learns the truth from Oyat’s boyfriend, John, she must confront her own traditional upbringing to find love and new notions of family in modern Uganda.
