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.
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