Apostasy

Apostasy looks at divine love at its most extreme in a highly physical performance form. Using research from the bible, Saint Teresa and the Knights of Templar among other sources as a starting point, Apostasy creates a contemporary, pop narrative about the intersection of sexuality and religion.

The piece cuts between the character of Jonathan (who believes he is Jesus’ lover) retelling the story of their steamy love affair and the story of Cyrus and David who are spelunking into the cave where Jesus left the last secret on earth. At the same time, the ghost of the Virgin Mary haunts the room, singing laments to her lost son. Each of these three storylines collide in the second half as the spelunkers arrive to discover Jonathan, the Virgin Mary and the mysterious secret, which may hold the key to life itself. And, as it turns out, Jonathan isn’t who we think he is at all. In fact, he is a disturbed and delusional Jesus who has been hidden in the center of the earth for thousands of years.Apostasy raises questions about the way we interpret Christian myths and how an ancient story can relate to a modern world.

Apostasy is performed using a highly physical, circus-theater format where the majority of the action takes place suspended off the ground. A workshop of Apostasy was commissioned by Dixon Place in 2005 and a final presentation of the work has yet to happen.