Bishop blasts gay Jesus play
2008-01-21 11:10
Sydney - A controversial play that depicts Jesus being seduced by Judas and conducting a gay marriage for two apostles has been condemned by church leaders ahead of its opening in Sydney.
The Anglican Bishop of South Sydney, Robert Forsyth,
expressed his outrage at the plot of Corpus Christi on
Sunday, calling the play "historical nonsense".
"It is deliberately, not innocently, offensive and they're
obviously having a laugh about it," he told the Sun-Herald
newspaper. "I wouldn't want to go and see it. Life's too
short."
Set to open on February 7 as part of Sydney's annual Gay and
Lesbian Mardi Gras festival, Corpus Christi depicts Jesus and
his followers as gay, and ends with Jesus being crucified.
Despite critical acclaim, the play provoked protests and
bomb threats when it was performed in the United States.
Playwright Terrence McNally received a death edict, or
fatwa, from a UK-based Islamic group, which declared it
blasphemous when the play ran in London in 1999.
McNally, who is gay, has said he wrote the piece to explore
parallels between Christ's persecution and the rejection he
faced as a young gay man growing up in Texas.
Sydney Mardi Gras organisers describe it on the festival
website as "a play that speaks out against inhumanity by
providing a witty, contemporary interpretation of Jesus' life".
Director Leigh Romney, who is staging the work in Australia,
rejected accusations the play mocks Christ.
Rowney said that as a Christian himself, he was keen to
provoke debate.
"I wanted this play in the hands of a Christian person like
myself to give it dignity but still open it up to answering
questions about Christianity as a faith system," Rowney said.