Fringe Review: Corpus Christi

Ah, Corpus Christi. I first saw this play in Melbourne, probably in 1999. At the time it was causing a lot of controversy - I had to avoid the picketing mob who I assume were Christians, cursing me for going to a play they'd probably never seen or read.

But first, this performance. What a great job - the acting was superb, the ensemble work very tight, and a pleasure to watch. A lot of the simple staging is inherent in the script, but this adaptation seemed to flow so smoothly and subtly behind the ongoing dialog and action. For such a large cast, there were no weak points, it was a pleasure watching all speak and perform their assigned parts.

Corpus Christi flits between a high school in modern-day Texas, and 2007 years ago in Galilee. It makes the obvious (yet controversial) analogy between the treatment of homosexuality in Texas, and the oppression that Jesus would (may?) have received in his time. I believe this is the nature of the Christian's upset at the play - is the playwright Terrance McNally suggesting that Jesus was gay? I don't believe he was, I'm happy to believe in the analogy alone. The audience are even told that it's supposed to be a willing suspension of disbelief. And again, at the end of the play they ask again not to be offended; what we have just seen is simply a version, their version of an ancient and often-told story.

The play takes us through the meeting of the disciples, his miracles, the relationship between himself and Judas, right through to the crucifiction.

I love this play. I'm gay, anti-religious, so this play would seemingly have been written just for people like me. I also love theatre, and I also love scripts that ask the audience to suspend their disbelief. Theatre can be so much more powerful than simply an accurate representation of an event - whilst the audience is suspending disbelief that a piece of furniture which started as bleachers at an American football match, can be turned sideways and become the truck of a cab, whilst the audience is working with the cast members, why not ask for a little more? I love scripts like that.

I love this play, because to me, it's pro-faith. Sure, it challenges the notion of organised religion, much in the same way the Kevin Smith film Dogma does, but (I believe) like Dogma, this script has a very pro-faith message. It creates sympathy and understanding for Jesus and his disciples. It looks again at the nature of the relationship between Jesus and Judas, why was his fate sealed with a kiss? Did Jesus want Judas to betray him? Did Judas know what he was doing? Was he a willing patsy for the cult of Jesus? Corpus Christi doesn't seek to answer any of these questions explicitly, it merely presents the story in a different fashion, giving audience members the chance to consider the questions themselves.

This cast does a stirling job with this. You immediately feel part of the ensemble cast as they are mingling in the foyer before the show starts (I didn't realise that until I saw them onstage later), and start the show in such a casual way that your theatrical defenses are down right from the start. The dialogue flows so effortlessly and is a joy to watch. This show will push all your buttons - if you're a die hard homosexual who hates religion, you'll find yourself strangely sympathetic with Jesus' plight. If you're a Christian it'll challenge you to rethink what you thought you knew about the gospells. If this play doesn't affect you in one way or another, you must be dead.

It's my pick for the Fringe, go see it.

Corpus Christi plays at Bedlam Theatre until August 25th.