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Springer musical faces Guidhall protests
CHRISTIAN groups are promising mass protests when controversial musical Jerry Springer The Opera is staged in Portsmouth.
Hundreds of protesters are gearing up to converge outside The Guildhall as 12 performances are staged as part of a national tour.
They are encouraging people to take to the streets to complain about the content, which they say is blasphemous and offensive to the Christian faith.
They are particularly incensed that the musical – which contains a lot of swearing – will arrive in the city for Christmas.
It comes after the BBC was deluged with more than 50,000 complaints when it screened the musical, featuring a nappy-wearing Jesus.
The picket is expected to be led by Christian Voice – which gained notoriety after sparking protests against the BBC and circulating the home addresses and phone numbers of BBC bosses.
Steuart Payne, associate pastor at Portsmouth Family Church, said: 'I definitely think we'll protest outside.
'People who go and see it need to hear our voice as strongly as possible, so they think about what they're doing.'
The Anglican Bishop of Portsmouth, the Right Reverend Kenneth Stevenson, said: 'Many Christians will regard this show as being in poor taste, especially given the way that the person they regard as their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, is depicted.'
However, Guildhall manager Danny Green said: 'It's won lots of awards, it's critically acclaimed and Portsmouth should be part of this national tour.'
As for the timing, he added: 'It happens to be over the Christmas period because that's the only time we could fit it in.'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Saturday 11 February 2012
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