The play “Corpus Christi”, directed by Laertis Vasiliu, was suspended in Greece for portraying Jesus Christ and the apostles as homosexuals. Furthermore, the actors and producers will be tried for “blasphemy” and could be sentenced to two years in prison.
According to the local press, the complaint against the play was made by a bishop, from the Orthodox Church. When it was on air, the production came under strong pressure to have it removed from the schedule. There were also attacks on the public present at the Athens theater, by religious extremists.
"What I see is that here there are people who steal and are not in prison while the prosecutor's office turns against art", lamented director Vasiliu.
The play “Corpus Christi” was written by American Terrence McNally, an open homosexual, and produced for the first time in 1998 in New York.
Wherever it went, the text generated controversy. In the production, there are no scenes of explicit sexual relations, but the dialogues demonstrate the characters' homosexual relationships.
