The Plays: Jesus Queen of Heaven

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When I was a boy, I was taught that when Jesus came down to earth as a human being, he took on board all human experience.

So why not the experience of a transsexual woman?

And if he did, what would he say?

I was also taught that as a Christian, it was my duty to try to imitate Christ as much as I could.

So what happens when a transsexual woman tries to imitate Christ? Does she really have to become a man?

I was also taught that Jesus, when he was alive, made friends with outcasts and those who society has rejected. And we only have to open the Gospels to see how true this is.

So surely he would have befriended us transsexual women too. He certainly never condemned us.

These are some of the thoughts that went into this play.

Of course I also wanted to express my pride in being a transsexual woman in the most dramatic and arresting way i could.

I mention all this because it is important to say that what I was doing is absolutely in the mainstream of Christian tradition and in no way did I intend to mock Christianity or denigrate it.

Yet the announcement of the play in August 2009 inspired a torrent of protest and outrage, accusing me of doing just that. And when the show opened in November, the street outside the Tron theatre was full of protesters. They shouted at the audience entering the theatre (most of whom were actually going to see a perfectly innocuous show about the Broons) and brandished placards with supposedly Christian messages such as “God Says: My Son Is Not A Pervert”.

I was very naive about it all. Because my intentions were so respectful, I really didn’t imagine I would cause such offence.

So I was very surprised by it all.

And then very shocked to realise that the “pervert” in question was me.

The BBC website covered the story of the demonstration; and that meant the story went all over the world.

A google search at the time came up with about a quarter of a million blog entries about the play. Passionate opinions, one way or another, about a play only 30 people could see at a time. A play that sold out, of course, but which by the end of its run only 180 people had actually seen.

It’s a testimony, I guess, to the power of religion. As well as the power of the theatre.

You can watch a video of the protest here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4qtsr5Zvjk

You can read the opinions of some of those who attacked the play (without ever seeing it) here

People who actually saw the performance tended to feel very differently about it. You can read their views here

The play was staged thanks to £2000 of my own money; £2000 from Glasgay; and the support of the other artists involved, who worked for a nominal or non-existent fee). It’s important to put this on the record, because the protesters were convinced that “tax-payers money” was being “chucked” at this “outrageous and offensive” production.

You can see production photos here

Thanks are due to the dear colleagues who made it happen:
ADAM CLIFFORD (Composer/percussion);
RACHAEL RAYMENT (Director);
LOIS FARNINGHAM (Designer);
SARAH PAULLEY (Design Supervisor);
GEORGE TARBUCK (Lighting designer)
NATASHA DACHS (Stage Manager);
ELAINE REID (Production assistant).

Extracts from the play can be found here