Unparalleled Depravity

Theatre-goers in Stuttgart have been gagging for medical attention after witnessing a gory mutilation of a 1921 Hindemith opera. Despite warnings of content including sexual violence and loud noises, a number of patrons became unwell when the performance turned out to contain exactly those; although it remains as yet unclear how far the malady was merely corporeal. The creator of the piece has suggested that her intention is to explore parallels between the Catholic church and kink/BDSM subcultures; nevertheless, Austrian bishops have already criticised it as a disrespectful caricature of a cannibalistic ritual which is performed in fancy dress and fetishises the bodily piercing of a man reportedly conceived via non-consensual ghost sex.