“I wrote this play to protest against the prejudice and discrimination trans people suffer; to celebrate our presence on this earth and affirm everyone’s shared humanity. I am so proud of everything it is doing to transform the lives of trans people.” Jo Clifford
“Everywhere we perform this play we create a ritual that encompasses the world. We create a safe space in which everyone, whatever their gender and sexuality, can celebrate who they are and who their neighbour is, too.” Susan Worsfold
The Archbishop of Glasgow called it “an affront to the Christian faith”, Lyn Gardner called it “moving and infinitely graceful” and the play has been attracting praise (from those who have seen it) and condemnation (generally from those who have not) ever since it opened.
The Gospel was first performed in November 2009 at the Tron theatre in Glasgow as part of the annual Glasgay! festival. The mostly self-funded production was assembled on a modest budget but its impact was huge. As news of the play spread and high profile commentators spoke out to condemn it in the tabloid press, hundreds of protestors gathered outside the theatre. All through the week-long run, audience members had to run the gauntlet of protesters and a further 500,000 online protests were posted on blogs and social media platforms.
Since its explosive and controversial premiere in 2009 The Gospel has been performed many times all over the UK, in all manner of spaces and venues. Jo and Susan began working together shortly after the premier and in 2015 joined forces with Annabel to form Queen Jesus Productions, which over time and, with support from Made in Scotland and the British Council, has developed a site-specific piece that can be performed anywhere - from churches and places of workshop (Augustine United in Edinburgh in 2010, St Mark’s and Hull Unitarian Churches in 2014 and 2017 and St John Chrysostom’s in Manchester with Queer Contact and the Royal Exchange in 2016), to hotel rooms (the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool in 2011), pubs (The Black Box for Outburst Festival in Belfast in 2015), community centres (Draper Hall, Elephant and Castle in 2017 and The Stove, Dumfries in 2018) and cutting-edge theatres and arts venues (Nightingale Theatre as part of Pink Fringe in Brighton in 2012, the Bike Shed Exeter in 2013, Summerhall in 2015 and Traverse Theatre in 2018).
Following a successful Fringe run supported by Made in Scotland, Queen Jesus Productions took the play with British Council support to FIT-BH international festival in Brazil in 2016 where all performances sold out within hours of going on sale. A month later, the Brazilian production “O Evangelho Segundo Jesus, Raihna do Ceu” premiered in Londrina and would go on to be performed over 200 times in major festivals and venues across Brazil, selling out wherever it went. Throughout, the play has faced huge opposition in Brazil, a country with the highest murder rate for queer and trans people in the world - performances have been cancelled, the cast have received death threats. Simultaneously, it has helped to change the landscape of theatre in Brazil, becoming a way to celebrate the rich, vibrant trans culture the country has, and be a focus of discussion about censorship and the limits of art. With the recent election of far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, it has become too dangerous to perform the play in Brazil. To go and see the play has become a political act and in the UK PEN International have written to Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt to take action to call an end to attempts to censor it.