Stephen Henry, Artistic Director of Theatre 28, is one very busy man. The year he directed Corpus Christi, he was just 26 years old, and only a year out of Drama Studio. The year before, in 1998, at the Edinburgh Fringe his theatre company (Theatre 28), presented Terrence McNally's play "Love! Valour! Compassion!" and won not one, but two awards (Best Ensemble & Best Actor 1998 - Time Out, Critics Choice). He followed up, in February of that same year, with a revival of Frank Wedekind's "Spring Awakening", which was another sell-out success at Jermyn Street Theatre, and which transferred due to public demand for a further successful season at Tristan Bates Theatre. And in 1999, at the Edinburgh Fringe, in addition to directing Corpus Christi, which was also a sell-out success, he directed Paul Harris' "To Have and to Hold."

Talking about Corpus Christi, Mr. Henry said:

"One of the reasons I was attracted to the play was to go back to my religion and explore it from a new angle. Since I've been researching it, I've been drawn back into some of the things I'd almost forgotten. You can hear it every week at Mass but until you see physically what they did to Jesus you don't realise how much pain He went through. When you see the play you have no choice but to walk out having a much stronger connection to your faith." [London Times, 30 July 1999]

"Where do gay men and women fit into religion? They always seem to be on the periphery and excluded in an awful lot of respects. The basic message here is Jesus is for everyone, regardless of race or sexual orientation." [London Times, 30 July 1999]

Mr. Henry's work so far, "Corpus Christi," "Love! Honor! Valor! Compassion!" and "Spring Awakening," have all involved nudity in some degree. Mr. Henry said:

"All scripts I get sent now involve some nudity. My mother keeps asking why I don't do a nice play like Mary Poppins." He further said, "Some people have decided to call me the queer director, but I didn't train to be a gay director. I was advised not to take on any more gay plays--so much of so-called gay theatre is crappy - but when it's someone like McNally, who I've worshipped for a year, you can't turn it down." [London Times, 30 July 1999]

But his mother may have weakened his resistence. Per London Times, there is a rumour that he is considering "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

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