Meet Singapore's Leading Comic: A Drag Queen Named Kumar

SINGAPORE, Feb. 14, 2008 — -- "You can get away with murder if you are funny," the skinny man sitting across from me in a Singapore bar says on a wet February afternoon.

Kumar, as he likes to be called, is very funny. And although he hasn't turned his attention to crime or violence, he certainly manages to get away with a lot in Singapore's conservative culture.

Kumar (the name means "young man" in his native Tamil language) is gay and the country's first and reigning drag queen.

But most remarkable of all for this straight-laced nation, he is astonishingly popular in a country where cross-dressing is not exactly in vogue, and homosexuality remains illegal.

What accounts for this stand-up comic's fame in a nation-state not known for its sense of humor?

"I am a voice for a lot of Singaporeans," Kumar says seriously. "I discuss their idiosyncrasies, their concerns, and, of course, I talk about sex very openly."

That openness has garnered the 40-year-old many fans, as was evident when I attended one of his performances at Three Monkeys, a bar in Singapore's swanky Orchard Road area.

But it has also caused him problems at home.

"My father didn't speak to me for seven years after I took to the stage," he says.

As for his mother, "She thought I was a male prostitute when I started doing this."

"Besides, I have three sisters, and no one wanted a fourth daughter," he adds, cracking himself up.

No memory, no matter how unhappy, is immune to his comedy.

So, is there anything Kumar won't joke about?

Although he takes his fair share of swipes at government policies, he is careful never to name any particular politician during his routine.

He also insists that he will "never use four-letter words onstage. It's just too tasteless."

But everything else is up for grabs, including race, sexuality and gender.

"In a way, because I am neither man nor woman, I can say anything I want without anyone accusing me of being too feminist or chauvinist," he says.