A Boy slowly falls asleep as a Priest gives sermon on purity, and words go from meaningful to jibberish.

Xiao Lian performs the Qingming ceremony to honour the spirit of her departed father and mother. Love and fellowship combine in the running of a dragon boat race. Xiao Lian joins her friends and crosses into her future.

All hope is lost as the villagers return and collect Qu Yuan’s possessions. They take the scrolls containing his famous poetry to the Daoist temple, where they will be preserved forever. Xiao Lian returns to the present at the bedside of her dying father. With his encouragement and love, she finally recognizes the value of honourin...

A young Chinese/Canadian woman (Xiao Lian) faces a difficult choice: Honour her family’s traditional past or embrace a more modern future. Her father dwells on the memory of his deceased wife and honours her by performing the Qingming funeral tradition. Meanwhile, Xiao Lian’s two friends want her to get out and be more social. Her ...

Maupin tells the story of a scandalous love affair from her youth, culminating in a daring escape from a convent.

A young religous brother tells an older brother that he is planning to leave the order. The older brother advises caution and obedience.

In his dressing room, Mother Mary explains to Charlie that he is pregnant with the son of god and offers him tips from her experience. Eventually, Charlie accepts that he will be a parent, and vows to protect the new messiah.

In his dressing room, drag performer Charlie puts on his Virgin Mary costume, witnessed by the real Virgin Mary inside his mirror.

The Shaman introduces the audience to his newest clients, a Man and Woman hoping to have a child.

The Shaman explains the end of the couple's tale.

Charlie performs the first number of his act: Mother Mary in the nativity scene, with the worries of a new mother carrying the son of god.

2003: After leaking torture photos to the internet, American army translator Alessandra Jenson refuses to be hushed up, and live streams her suicide in protest.

Westerner Jackie and sherpa Pasang summit Everest without using oxygen cannisters. Soon their victory turns into a culture clash as they argue about their affair and the mountain, and slowly die of hypoxia.

Drag performer Charlie sings a number in the persona of the Virgin Mary.

The Virgin Mary explains to Charlie why he has been chosen to carry the child of God.

Charlie sings gently to his child, the Messiah, who he has been chosen to bear.

The Child is taught a lesson. She attempted to speak her truth, but was met with discipline.

A long setting of the word Alleluia, revisiting the multitude of themes and musical genres that have appeared in isolation in the work so far.

An electroacoustic setting of an old Sufi song composed by Muhammad ‘Uthman (Egypt 1855-1900).  The texts are considerably older; they were written by Sana’ il-Mulk (Egypt 1155-1211). The text is a poetic adoration of clouds: “O clouds adorn the crowns of the hills with garlands/And make the bending stream a bracelet for them/O sky...

“Christos Anesti”, the Byzantine Easter chant of the resurrection, is sung in Greek by the mezzo-soprano, while the alto intones and whispers similar texts from the Islamic faith.

An instrumental interlude.

A setting of twelve statements of the words “Kyrie Eleison” (“Lord Have Mercy Upon Us”), a standard orthodox ritual practice.

An instrumental interlude.

An instrumental interlude.

The two voices—representing two different worlds, two cultural paradigms—sing together.  The texts are “The Death of Dighenis,” a poem about a Byzantine hero, and the Dies Irae.

A group of people discuss the dynamics of Polygyny before the arrival of colonizers and missionaries.

A solo by the mezzo-soprano about nuns sex-shaming in hospitals, while the chorus repeatedly sings "sanctus".

Keith tells Erica he has taken a vow of chastity to become a priest, but Erica still tries to seduce him.

Lucifer taunts the Child in a cell. She doesn't understand what she's done wrong.

A cleric prepares for confessional. Someone enters the booth. The cleric realizes it’s a man with whom he shared a mutual attraction. The man has recently finished gay conversion therapy and wishes to resume some kind of a relationship.

The Child is bored. She reads several books in an effort to learn all the things she shouldn’t do, say, feel, or see. Lucifer simply asks her why, attempting to get her attention on him instead of books. She finds a name, Iblis, and taunts him.

As Lucifer tries again to get the Child to go with him, the Child finds out who Lucifer is in one of the books of the cell.

Lucifer jangles an entrancing key in front of the Child and a young boy. This key promises to open the gates of heaven, but the boy has his own doubts about that. Nevertheless, he zips up his vest...

Lucifer is enraged at the unfairness put upon him. The Child sees, and has an idea. Perhaps the system should be broken. When Lucifer realizes the Child has seen his truth, he tries to hide his emotions.

A watcher looks over a group of faithful. His irritation turns to hatred as he accuses them of subversion. He claims to have proof hidden in some papers, but the Child has destroyed them. The Child proclaims “I know what to do,” and the tension between authority and people escalates. The Child begins taking pages and notes from all the surrou...

The Child creates her own book from pages of other books. She hands out her new rules to the audience.

Lucifer rebuilds the cage, then tries to convince the audience to join him in self-exile.

A man tries to write a letter home, but he cannot find the right words. He burns each rejected attempt.