Mick Hartley

The non-binary revolution in Scotland takes another dramatic step forward:

A landmark musical has been resurrected for the 21st century, with a non-binary actor taking the role of Jesus and Judas Iscariot being played by a woman.

Now students from the Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group will launch the world’s first gender-neutral production of the rock opera today.

In the adaptation, which has been approved and licensed by Lloyd Webber, Roza Stevenson — who uses the pronouns they/them — will play Jesus, while the 12 apostles will be portrayed by female or non-binary performers.

Lew Forman, the creative producer, said the production had adopted “gender-blind casting” to reinvent the story of Jesus’s final days for a modern audience. “Jesus is remembered as being a man, but who are we to decide?” he said. “None of us were around 2,000 years ago. It’s the same story and songs but the audience will view it from a different perspective.”

How exciting!

It's not all plain sailing though:

Lloyd Webber Licensing granted permission for the production but insisted that the lyrics and pronouns must not be changed. It means that Mary Magdalene, played by Sofia Pricolo, will sing I Don’t Know How to Love Him, about Jesus, rather than I Don’t Know How to Love Them.