A racy opera in Germany warned attendees to "avert your gaze" if they couldn't handle the visuals — but even with the warning, 18 people became ill while watching the "radical" performance last weekend.
The ill-stricken theatergoers were hit with "severe nausea" while watching SANCTA — an opera about the Catholic church that's been described as both erotic and feminist — "featuring live piercings, explicit sexual acts, rollerblading nuns, and real and fake blood." While most of the sickened patrons only required first aid, three of them needed to be seen by an on-call doctor, according to The Independent.
"On Saturday we had eight and on Sunday we had 10 people who had to be looked after by our visitor service," said a SANCTA spokesperson, via The Independent. "We recommend that all audience members once again very carefully read the warnings so they know what to expect. If you have questions, speak to the visitor service. And when in doubt during the performance, it might help to avert your gaze." (See trailer for the show in video below — no gaze-averting needed.)
From The Independent:
At least 18 theatregoers in Germany needed medical treatment over the weekend after they watched a radical feminist opera …
Sancta, which has several content warnings about sex and mutilation, held its first shows at the Stuttgart opera house over the weekend.
Austrian choreographer Florentina Holzinger's production is based on a controversial 1920s expressionist opera called Sancta Susanna by Paul Hindemith which examined the relationship between celibacy and lust in Christianity.
Any assumption that reports about audience members taking sick would deter others from going to the show have been proven wrong, considering the five remaining shows in Stuttgart and two more scheduled at Berlin's Volksbühne in November have sold out.
The takeaway for me: Where can I get tickets?
Previously: Religion is losing importance to Americans, new survey shows
