There’s a powerful scene in the film “Oriented,” where the protagonist, Khader Abu Seir rides his bike through the small Arab port town of Jaffa, smiling, sailing past the open air cafes into the night.

Watching his fluid movement through the streets, freedom is the first word that comes to mind. Yet the message of freedom is not typically what the West associates with being gay and Arab. But “Oriented,” released on iTunes to coincide with this summer’s Pride celebrations, is not your typical take on the Arab world.The brainchild of Jewish director Jake Witzenfeld, Oriented offers a candid view of LGBT life in the Middle East. READ FULL

Red Pill Productions’ performance at the Singapore Theatre Festival is woven from interviews with people who privately or publicly identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer in Singapore.

Let’s Get Back Together, which ended its run on Sunday, is directed by Mark Ng, who also co-wrote the script in collaboration with Kimberly Arriola and Kenneth Chia.

It was initially staged in 2014 and has been updated to reflect new realities, including conservative movements against the annual Pink Dot event, which pushes for queer rights.

A cast of six enacts coming-out tales, stories of abandonment, of body-shaming and of what it is like to live knowing that Section 377A of the Penal Code still criminalises homosexuality. READ FULL