Singapore organisers of the musical “Les Miserables” have cut a scene in which two male actors kiss after complaints from the public in the conservative city state where sex between men is illegal.
The show’s organiser, Mediacorp VizPro, removed the kiss after being told by state regulator, the Media Development Authority, that it violated the show’s General rating.
“The inclusion of this particular scene meant that the performance had exceeded the ‘General’ rating issued,” said the authority.
“Under our classification code, such a scene would fall under an ‘Advisory’ rating.”
Mediacorp Vizpro chose to remove the kiss from the scene instead of changing the rating for business reasons, said a spokesman. An advisory rating means parents might prevent children from watching the show.
Financial hub
The company said the kiss was a “peck on the lips” during a comical scene in the musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s 19th century novel set in Paris.
“The kiss was intended to be comic,” said the head of Mediacorp Vizpro Moses Lye.
Singapore is a modern financial hub at the heart of southeast Asia developed over the 50 years since its founding by a ruling party that has closely regulated politics and society at large.
Sex between two men is illegal in Singapore and punishable with up to two years in prison, though the law is rarely enforced. The legislation, based on English texts from the island’s colonial period, makes no mention of lesbians.
Last week, Singapore’s ministry of home affairs warned that it would take steps to prevent foreign firms from funding or supporting the city’s annual gay pride event, Pink Dot.
This year’s sponsors included Facebook, Google and Goldman Sachs.