Shame: A Lust for the Sacred

A man wracked with grief over the death of his lover pours his heart out before an empty cross, addressing Jesus directly. As a man who loves other men, he is sick with the shame thrust upon him by his religion. His faith is broken.

In an act of profound frustration, he confesses that he has always been turned on by images of Jesus nearly naked on the cross. The man slowly removes his clothes as he tells Jesus that he only wants to be seen as he is. His deepest innermost desires spring from love and compassion, to remove Jesus from the cross and care for Him.
As the lights come up on the second half of the play, the actor has now become Jesus on the cross .
Shame challenges audiences with its simultaneous rejection of organized religion but affirmation of genuine personal spirituality in the experience of true compassion.