Singapore AIDS patient takes to the stage

The 39-year-old Chew hopes the play will help force the topic of Singapore's growing AIDS problem into the country's living rooms and classrooms.

The monologue play Totally With/Out Character features Chew, gaunt and thin-haired, telling the audience in a frank and conversational way what it's like to be dying from the disease.

Chew says publicizing the sensitive topic will make it easier to talk about in Singapore, where the East Asian concept of "saving face" is strong.

"Singapore society is very strange," he said. "As soon as there's somebody to point at, you can talk about it, because it's not you."

The play uses an austere stage, with a hospital bed and wheelchair as the only props. During the show, Chew describes his AIDS experience while a series of images are projected onto the wall behind him.

Chew believes the controversial nature of the play, which opens Monday, is sure to draw attention.

"If I were to come out in America or Europe, I'd be just another face. But here I'm on the front page," Chew said. "When I came out, every structure in Singapore society and every home was talking about it. I want them to talk about it more -- children, teenagers."

Chew, formerly a Singapore Airlines flight steward, became a household name in Singapore last December when he spoke as an AIDS victim at the island republic's first conference on the illness.

The event unleashed a rare rush of public discussion on AIDS and related issues. Chew said strangers still stop him in the street to thank him for his bravery, and he believes the new play can keep the momentum going.

The play's producer, Alvin Tan, said seeing AIDS mentioned in Singapore's government-controlled media and arts makes people recognise it as a legitimate discussion topic in the tightly regulated city-state.

"It goes from whispers at the beach to a classroom discussion," Tan said.