Meet the naked female Jesus in lesbian sex opera

The actress who stars in a controversial new opera as Jesus Christ has described the thrill she gets from performing dangerous stunts and taking to the stage naked.

Annina Machaz plays an unconventional version of the Messiah - characterised as a homeless drug addict - and takes a secondary role as a naked Adam in 'Sancta'.

The almost three hour show about a suppressed nun discovering her sexuality includes unsimulated lesbian sex scenes, sword swallowing, real blood, piercings and gruesome injuries being inflicted live on stage.

The performance was so graphic that it left 18 audience members requiring medical treatment for nausea and shock over the first two performances in the German city of Stuttgart.

Machaz is at the centre of the chaotic show, which was put on by maverick Austrian choreographer Florentina Holzinger, and has also starred in the director's previous shocking productions.

'What I find exciting about theatre is the possibility of transformation,' she told Swiss newspaper Tagesanzeiger last year.

The daring performer takes part in some of the show's riskiest stunts, at one point dangling high above the stage completely naked.

In a biblical reenactment, she is handed an apple by an actress playing Eve, and reaches out to actors below her in an allusion to Michelangelo's The Creation of Man fresco.

In preparation for Holzinger's outlandish shows, Machaz and her fellow performers undertake rigorous stunt training.

She says the the thrill she gets from performing the risky tricks, which in one case saw her set herself on fire, are what theatre is all about.

The scandalous show, which is loosely based on a 1921 opera which was cancelled for being too blasphemous, has received serious backlash during its run this year

It was met with outcry from Church figures in Austria when it was performed at the Vienna Festival in June, with one bishop saying the work went beyond the boundaries of artistic expression by 'seriously offending believers' religious feelings and convictions.'

Themes of Sancta include female sexual, physical and social oppression and a 'dissecting' of Catholicism and religion, with Holzinger labelling it 'our own version of Mass'. 

In one particularly irreligious scene, Machaz, dressed as Jesus, spanks the behind of a semi-naked nun. 

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Aspects of the opera which have been blasted as blasphemous by critics include a the loin cloth being ripped off Christ on the cross and one of the actresses copulating with the statue.

At one point, roller-skating semi-naked nuns wow the audience by performing tricks in a half-pipe on stage. 

In another bizarre scene, a female Pope, played by an actress with dwarfism, is lifted in the air and spun around by a robotic arm.

And in a particularly disturbing sequence, bodies are strung up on the wall to mimic Christ on the cross, before vats of fake blood start pouring down over them.

Most shockingly of all, one critic detailed the moment an injury is inflicted on one of the actors live on stage. 

To illustrate the Eucharist, the body of Christ, a piece of flesh is reportedly cut from a performer's side, which is then grilled medium rare. 

On the show's website, the opera company warns attendees that the performance art is 'not fake, but real,' and recommends the performance to viewers who are 'daringly looking for new theatrical experiences.'

'Sometimes you can give people a little hope by taking them to another world,' Machaz said in an interview, given while she was touring for another Holzinger play, which she starred in as Captain Hook.

Born and raised in Zurich before going on to study acting at Bern University, Machaz has won awards for her unconventional performances and directing roles.

'I was brought up to believe that women can do anything. I have never felt disadvantaged,' said Machaz, the daughter of a successful businesswoman. 

She is described as a 'disciplined' performer, and told Swiss media that she enjoys  spending time with her castmates as part of Holzinger's all-female ensemble.

'We are all friends and enjoy spending time together outside of performances and rehearsals,' she told Tagesanzeiger.

She added that the intensity of their work means they can't face partying together after their shows, and instead go on hikes or relax together to save their energy for the elaborate and extremely physical performances.