Jerry Springer the Opera

Yeah, I know, this is in danger of becoming some fawning fansite, but I wanted to share with you (by 'you' I mean the future me) the slightly passive-aggressive email I sent to Stephen, (who I assume is Stephen Green, the National Director) at Christian Voice who objected to the play quite vociferously:

"I have just finished watching the DVD version of this musical and having already heard your objections to it, I was somewhat taken aback by the difference between your interpretation and the opera itself. In fact, the disparity between your description and the reality of the piece is, in my opinion, the most shocking thing about this whole affair and it seems to me that you have engaged in spiteful straw-man building in your criticisms.

Perhaps because one of the writers is an outspoken atheist?

It simply DOES NOT show Christ wearing a nappy! Not at any point does it do that. Never.

The character depicted as Christ only appears in a dream for one thing, and for another, he is clearly wearing a loincloth. The whole of the second half of the play is a criticism of the egotism of celebrity and frailty of man using biblical and poetic imagery. The fact that Springer is dreaming it is why the same actors are portraying the biblical figures in the second half. Therefore, the character in the nappy IS NOT a depiction of Christ and thus the accusation you make regarding the depiction of Christ as a sexual deviant is false. These are the facts.

The part where the Christ character (who, remember, is being imagined by the Springer character) says "I'm a little bit gay" is open to massive theological debate. I'm sure you've heard - and, may I be so presumptuous to assume - ignored them all, so I won't trouble you with them again. If you really want to hear my views on this then you only have to ask. I'll certainly share them with you, however you have to promise not to picket my house if you don't agree.......

I agree, it has a lot of swearing. That, I believe, is a matter of personal taste. Again, I have my own views on the artistic merit of this and if you want to hear them then, please, with the above caveat in mind, ask. I'll be only to happy to tell you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

With brotherly love,

Mark."

I had to go through a spam filter and verification process to get my email sent but hopefully Stephen will read and respond to it. I think, however, that it would be unethical of me to publish any reply he might give: so I would advise anyone who is interested in finding out Stephen's views to email him yourself and ask. I'd prefer you to keep it civil, after all he is a real person. I bet he loves having his views questioned.

The address is in the 'About Us' section of the C.V. website.