Bride of Christ is play in which each character searches for inner peace and justification for their own views on Christianity’s complex relationship with gender and sexuality. Marion is about to be married to her girlfriend but is suddenly contacted by God. Now convinced that she must change herself, Marion joins a small conservative church opposing homosexuality and the ordination of women. Her mother, a Lutheran minister, cannot accept this.
Shortlisted for the 2010 Lea Award fro the best play of the year.
5 F, 9 M (role doublings possible)
Available: ENG, SWE.
ACT ONE
SCENE 1
Three images simultaneously: Henriikka putting on a black clerical shirt, to which she attaches a dog collar; Juho putting on a cassock; Marion putting on a wedding dress.
SCENE 2
Marion is dressed in a white wedding gown. The shop assistant approaches the fitting room and pulls back the curtains to reveal Julia wearing a tailcoat. Julia steps out of the fitting room.
MARION
Well, well, is this my husband-to-be?
JULIA
Yes. Only missing the willy.
MARION
You’re missing a willy?
JULIA
So, will the lady take me or leave me?
MARION
That’s quite a setback. You mean you haven’t got one at all?
JULIA
No.
MARION
Not even a tiny little one?
JULIA
Afraid not, ma’am. But in a squeeze I could draw on a moustache and stuff my pants with cotton wool.
MARION
I don’t like women with moustaches.
JULIA
Good lady, nobody said anything about women. Do you like men with moustaches?
(...)
Translated from the Finnish by David Hackston .
“"Bride of Christ is a bold play. It analyses the church and religion, which is all but ordinary in contemporary drama. It throws in the question of whether a human can believe in God, and if yes, then how, in what kind of a God and where.”
“What is great about Junkkaala’s play is the element of surprise. The characters don’t say what you expect them to.”"
“Who has the power to organise points of view?”
Päivi Taussi, Kouvolan Sanomat 28 March 2010
"The emotional subject is dealt with in an intelligent way but without losing its ability to invoke feelings. All of the characters are easy to identify with, from the most ardent adversary of the ordination of women to the defender.”"
“Ecce homo”
Ilona Kangas, Turun Sanomat 28 March 2010
"However, chance plays no part in how boldly, stably and critically the characters written by Junkkaala discuss their religion, sexuality, becoming a sacrifice and their attitude towards others, especially to minorities foreign to their own way of thinking.
And in what a liberating and funny way it is done!”
“Junkkaala, who grew up in a new pietistic religious community and is a member of a sexual minority, knows what she is writing about. Bride of Christ is not only thought of and constructed in an excellent way, but also very personal, shamelessly political and quite universal description of humans looking for security – some of them at any cost.”"
“Seeker of truth in believers’ wonderland”
Suna Vuori, Helsingin Sanomat 28 March 2010
