‘Sancta Susanna’ actress who plays Jesus speaks out: ‘Thrill’

The actress starring in a radical feminist opera that controversially sickened 18 audience members over its sex scenes and depictions of sadism is speaking out.

Annina Machaz plays a thoroughly unconventional version of Jesus in “Sancta Susanna,” which was shelved due to public outrage back in 1921.

Now, more than 100 years later, composer Paul Hindemith’s controversial creation is being performed in Stuttgart, Germany for the first time.

In the shocking modernized version, Machaz plays Jesus as a homeless drug addict. She also performs in a secondary role as a naked Adam.

Machaz described the thrill she gets from performing naked and engaging in dangerous stunts throughout the show.

“What I find exciting about theatre is the possibility of transformation,” she told the Swiss newspaper Tagesanzeiger last year, per the Daily Mail Friday.

At one point in the production, Machaz dangles high above the stage completely naked.

In preparation for the show, Machaz and her fellow performers go through rigorous stunt training, with the star adding that the thrill she feels from performing risky tricks, including setting herself on fire, is what theatre is all about, according to the outlet.

The scandalous show is coming to the US this month and follows the story of a suppressed nun embarking on self-discovery and sexuality. It features shocking elements including explicit lesbian scenes, real injuries and nudity. 

The one-act show lasts almost three hours and has no breaks — but shows many sex acts, real and simulated blood, and painful stunts, alongside graphic portrayals of violence and nudity.  

Some of the shocking scenes include naked performers appearing as clappers in church bells, others scaling walls while wearing only harnesses, and a crucifix-shaped sword being thrust down an actress’s throat.

The immersive production has received mixed responses from audiences, with reports of 18 attendees requiring medical attention for stress and more on-site — with three treated by a doctor for excessive nausea — during its initial performances, The UK Times reported. 

However, the show must go on.

A representative from the opera told the outlet: “We recommend that all audience members once again very carefully read the warnings so they know what to expect.”