We all know Jesus. Yes, that Jesus. But The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven takes Jesus and imagines the biblical character as transgender.
As you can expect, the performance has been both praised and condemned. The Guardian called it “moving and infinitely graceful” while the Archbishop of Glasgow (where the play was first performed) said it was “an affront to the Christian faith.” Of course, you may read that comment as an added endorsement.
At its crux, The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven takes the concept of Christian love and applies it to those who have been historically excluded due to gender or sexuality while also asking us how inclusive we really are as a society.
The play was written and first performed by Scottish playwright Jo Clifford in 2009, where it packed out Glasgow’s Tron Theatre. The play is having its Australasian premiere as part of Midsumma 2021, where it will be performed at Theatre Works by Kristen Smyth with direction from Kitan Petkovski. It’ll also feature a choir of LGBTQIA+ artists and original compositions by Rachel Lewindon.
See it in Theatre Works' Glasshouse from April 30 to May 8.
