Fridae

Tony Moran is, by every measure, a talent that sets him apart from the rest. He tells Fridae about the "special mixes" he is going to debut at Nation.VI in October, his recurring discomfort from an old stab wound, and how the turntables and writing "You're So Beautiful" with Donna Summer and other material changed him.

With a new three week-long festival of Singapore plays starting today, theatre critic Ng Yi-Sheng reflects on how the gay theatre of the early 90s may have made a key difference in the cultural shift toward a society more accepting of homosexuality.

One of the greatest, gayest, most deliciously decadent musicals ever made, Cabaret is coming to Singapore from July 22 - 30, directed by Beatrice Chia and starring Taiwanese pop legend Fei Xiang in the flamboyantly pansexual role of the Emcee.

Singapore's favourite lesbian contest Femme Quest rolls around next week. Like mainstream beauty pageants, it has been accused of buying into the objectification of women. Is it ultimately empowering, not only for contestants themselves, but also for the (lesbian) audience? In partaking in the spectacle, is it an act of subversion or betrayal?

Singapore cinema's wonderboy Royston Tan has just released his new homoerotic film 4:30. He tells Fridae about his plans to make a full-fledged gay movie and a women's movie, and what he once did to his crushee when he was drunk.

The Marriage of Figaro is the union of a clever, satirical play about the foibles of lovers and the presumptions of class. It will be sung by an internationally acclaimed all-Asian cast accompanied by the Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and the Singapore Lyric Opera Chorus at the Esplanade Theatre from 14 - 17 July 2006. Find out what lead star Fukushima-born Teppei Kono would do should he forget his lines.

To coincide with the release of DC Comic's new Wonder Woman #1 this week, Fridae's Alvin Tan explores the gay appeal of the star-spangled super-heroine and modestly explains why he is the best person to play the Amazing Amazon in Joss Whedon's Wonder Woman (2007).

One's a campy, in-your-face Filipino-Californian drama queen. The other's a Hong Kong-Australian ex-computer engineer stud next door. What could they have in common? They're the funnymen of "Camp Comedy", the side-splitting comedy show coming soon to Zouk, Singapore.

Fridae exclusive: Talented Armenian-Canadian director Atom Egoyan, director of Where the Truth Lies, Ararat and The Sweet Hereafter talks to Fridae's Zhuang Yisa about his work, the merits of alternate families gays often create for themselves, sexuality in his films and his "interest in human beings and how we communicate with each other."

Created for Her Majesty Elton John's 50th birthday bash and later performed to awestruck audiences worldwide, Burn the Floor is now on its Asian tour and is set to crashland in Singapore later this month before moving on to Seoul, Osaka and Tokyo.