Review: In "Drowning in Cairo," Those Who Tell Don’t Die, But Sometimes They Drown
Drowning in Cairo Written by Adam Ashraf Elsayigh Directed by Celine Rosenthal Presented by National Queer Theater at IRT Theater 154 Christopher Street, Manhattan, NYC June 13-16, 2019 Photo credit: Sean Velas In May 2001 fifty-two men, known as the Cairo 52, were arrested on the Queen Boat nightclub , a boat docked on the banks of the Nile that served as a club and was known to be gay-friendly. It was one of the only clubs in Cairo a man could enter unaccompanied by a woman, making it the default gay club in the city. The Cairo 52 were accused of “devil worship” and “habitual debauchery,” and during the drawn-out trial, Cairo newspapers published scathing stories about the men next to their pictures. Twenty-one of the men were sentenced to three years of prison despite international outcry from Human Rights Watch and the United Nations. The incident has been featured in two documentaries: Dangerous Living and A Jihad for Love . It is also the incident Adam Elsayi...