“Set yourself on fire”’: new transgender Jesus musical sparks controversy

By Spencer Fowler Steen

“The most controversial thing I’ve ever done”. That’s how creative producer and Southbank resident Ben Anderson describes his upcoming show titled The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven.

From Facebook trolls telling him to set himself on fire, to people who have been inspired by the play to come out of the closet as HIV-positive, Mr Anderson has heard it all.

And while also juggling a second musical titled Leather Lungs: Black Velvet, Mr Anderson recently lost $15,000 due to the cancellation of a show in Brisbane where COVID-19 made a comeback.

But while the play’s theme may be one of the most controversial things he has ever done, Mr Anderson claimed the play itself was not overly controversial.

“It’s a really respectful, and actually theologically sound and biblically accurate, but the difference is Jesus is transgender,” he said.

“I’d argue that it’s not offensive in any way shape or form.”

Written by transgender playwright and performer Jo Clifford in 2009, The Gospel According to Jesus imagines Christianity’s message of love extending to embrace all those traditionally excluded because of their sexuality or gender.

The production features a choir of LGBTQI+ artists and will be performed at Theatre Works in t Kilda as part of Midsumma Festival with Kristen Smyth as Queen Jesus.

But when Mr Anderson put ads on Facebook, the reception was vicious.

“The vile awful, comments people put out there are absolutely revolting,” he said.

“Ranging from people posting vomit faces, to comments saying, ‘cover yourself in petrol and set yourself on fire’”.

Off the back of a terrible year for people in the arts and entertainment industry – who often fell through the cracks of government coronavirus supports – Mr Anderson is glad to be producing two shows.

Black Velvet features international drag-cabaret superstar, Leather Lungs, who usually performs powerhouse anthems by Queen and Witney Houston utilising his four-and-a-half octave vocal range – half an octave greater than Freddy Mercury, Mr Anderson said.

“The recital centre show is going to be a kind of an exploration of the softer side of Leather,” he said.

“It’s an exploration of the melancholy.”

And there has been plenty to be melancholic about for Mr Anderson.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr Anderson lost $20,000 worth of work within a week due to show cancellations.

Hailing from New Zealand, Mr Anderson told Southbank News that he lost his job, he was ineligible for the Australian Government’s JobSeeker payment, leaving him with no other option but to go home.

And as a consequence of the late-March outbreak of COVID-19 in Brisbane, his show titled Escape from Trash Mountain has been binned, leaving him $15,000 out of pocket.

For Mr Anderson, it was a kick in the guts after the stark lack of appreciation and support for the arts throughout the pandemic.

“It’s a feeling that the government and society in general don’t appreciate what we do, or don’t have an understand of that,” he said.

“You feel like you’re struggling along, and you just want to throw in the towel and get out of the rent cycle and buy a house and get a boring job.”

“If we were to take away the arts all of sudden, I think people would find their lives hugely impacted.”

For Mr Anderson, the social impact of the shows he produces motivates him to keep going.

Specifically, Mr Anderson remembers the feedback from Leather Lung’s first show this year.

“We got messages saying: ‘I really needed to see this show tonight, I’ve now decided to live a little longer’, and: ‘now I’ve seen the show, I’ve deicide to come out to my parents as a HIV positive’”, Mr Anderson said.

“How can you not invest this time and money with these sorts of outcomes?”

Although he recognised it was a cliché, Mr Anderson said even if one person came out of his shows having had their life impacted, he was happy.

“That’s what keeps me going when I’m stressing out,” he said.

“You just feel like you’re making the world a better place.”

The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven is showing from April 20 to May 8, 2021 at Theatre Works, St Kilda.

Leather Lungs: Black Velvet is showing on Saturday, May 29 at 8pm at the Melbourne Recital Centre •

For more information: theatreworks.org.au // melbournerecital.com.au