\n<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE \u2013 The musical Jesus Christ Superstar, to be staged here from Aug 19 to Sept 6 at Marina Bay Sands, has been deemed more suitable for audiences aged 16 and above because of some mature content in the production.<\/p>\n
It has been given an Advisory 16 rating by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), in consultation with the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth (MCCY) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), the three organisations said in a joint release on June 11.<\/p>\n
Age restriction is not imposed on audiences under that rating. Of the four ratings for arts entertainment here, Restricted 18 is the only one that has a minimum age condition, according to IMDA\u2019s website. It means that organisers or licensees must allow only those aged 18 years and above to access content with that rating.<\/p>\n
Also, the musical\u2019s promoter Base Entertainment Asia has included a disclaimer on ticketing platforms, and will do so at the event venue, that the production is presented for entertainment purposes only, and is not intended to be a biblically accurate representation of the life of Jesus.<\/p>\n
The rating and consumer advice are to \u201calert audiences to the mature and religiously sensitive nature of the content\u201d, according to the joint statement.<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ Superstar was originally a rock opera album and was first staged as a musical in 1971. It was adapted into a film in 1973 that was approved for screening in Singapore and shown here in 1974.<\/p>\n
The musical presents a dramatised, artistic interpretation of biblical figures and events.<\/p>\n
IMDA had reviewed materials submitted for the production against the Arts Entertainment Classification Code, and then consulted MCCY and MHA on community and religious sensitivities. IMDA also sought the views of its advisory panels.<\/p>\n
\u201cIMDA also took into account the work\u2019s long history, including the fact that the film adaptation had previously been screened in Singapore,\u201d said the joint statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Government recognises that some Christian leaders and members of the Christian community are concerned that the production does not present a biblically accurate account of the life of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgencies have engaged them to hear their views and to explain the Government\u2019s approach to arts classification, including how religiously sensitive content is assessed. The classification of the production is not an endorsement of the production.\u201d<\/p>\n
The three organisations said in their statement that the Government is mindful of the diverse views and sensitivities in the multicultural and multi-religious society here.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur approach seeks to balance support for artistic expression with the safeguarding of mutual respect and religious harmony,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will continue consulting and engaging our advisory panels and key stakeholders closely, especially on content that may be religiously sensitive. Productions that denigrate any religion, incite hatred or ill will, or pose a real risk to religious harmony will not be allowed to be staged.\u201d<\/p>\n
Separately, in a statement on June 11, the National Council of Churches of Singapore (NCCS) said it is aware of discussions among Christians over the staging of the musical here.<\/p>\n
NCCS added that some Christians had regarded the musical\u2019s portrayal of Jesus as incomplete, theologically problematic, and that the musical \u201cblasphemously distorted the true identity of Jesus Christ\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, other Christians have seen it as \u201can artistic work that provides opportunities for reflection, conversation… concerning the person and work of Christ\u201d, the council said.<\/p>\n
It encourages Christians to \u201cexpress their convictions responsibly\u201d in relation to the musical, and to \u201cengage (with) cultural works with discernment and wisdom\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor those who find the musical deeply offensive to their conscience or harmful to their faith, the Council respects their decision to abstain from viewing or supporting it,\u201d NCCS said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor those who choose to attend or reflect on the musical, the Council encourages a critical and prayerful engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
SINGAPORE \u2013 The musical Jesus Christ Superstar, to be staged here from Aug 19 to Sept 6 at Marina Bay Sands, has been deemed more…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-59917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=59917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/59918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=59917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=59917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=59917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}