JEEZUS! Review: Camp, Chaos and Catholic Guilt Done Divinely

★★★★★

One of the true pleasures of being a theatre critic, especially one who champions fringe theatre, is watching a show grow, sharpen and achieve a full theatrical resurrection. Some shows return with a little polish. Some come back with confidence. JEEZUS! has come back preaching the good word, and I am more than ready to join the congregation.

Following its smash Fringe success, JEEZUS! arrives at New Diorama Theatre as the award winning debut from migrant led company Alpaqa, and it is an absolute joy. Created by Sergio Antonio Maggiolo, Guido Garcia Lueches and Laura Killeen, this is a gloriously naughty musical comedy with a filthy mouth, a huge heart and enough Catholic chaos to make the Virgin Mary ask for an interval drink.

Set in 1990s Peru, the show follows altar boy Jesús as he prepares for his First Communion while also dealing with family expectation, political unrest and the inconvenient discovery that the man on the cross is making him feel things he definitely did not learn about in Sunday school. It is a ridiculous set up, but JEEZUS! knows exactly how to handle it. The show never just points at religion and laughs. It pokes, teases, seduces and then somehow finds the emotional truth underneath the glitter.

There are sexy purple capes, crucifix dildos and increasingly desperate attempts to “have Jesus inside me”. Honestly, praise be. This is a show that knows how silly it is, but the silliness is never careless. Every joke feels placed with purpose. Every gasp is earned. Every bit of filth has a wink behind it. It is less Sunday sermon, more holy communion after dark.

What makes JEEZUS! work so beautifully is that it never feels like a show trying to shock its audience into submission. It is too charming for that. Yes, it is rude. Yes, it is outrageous. Yes, there are moments that would have me escorted out of my childhood RE classroom. But it is also tightly written, brilliantly performed and completely in control of its own madness. The laughs come thick and fast, but so does the affection.

Sergio Antonio Maggiolo is wonderful as Jesús, bringing wide eyed innocence, comic panic and real sweetness to the role. His performance makes the whole show feel anchored, even when everything around him is spiralling into sacrilegious chaos. His Jesús is not just a joke machine. He is confused, excited, terrified and trying to work out whether desire is a sin or simply a very persuasive calling.

Opposite him, Guido Garcia Lueches is sensational. He switches between characters with brilliant timing and total confidence, turning the stage into a whole community of priests, parents, authority figures and temptations. He has that rare comic gift of making a tiny shift in face, voice or posture do an enormous amount of work. Together, Maggiolo and Garcia Lueches are a dream double act. They bounce off each other with ease, mischief and total trust. You can feel how much fun they are having, and that joy is completely infectious.

The 69 minute running time is, of course, part of the joke. Blessedly, there is not a wasted moment. The show moves quickly, but it never feels rushed. The songs keep pushing the story further into madness, and with musical direction and orchestrations by Tom Cagnoni, the whole thing has a live, cheeky energy that makes the room feel fully involved. Cagnoni’s presence adds another layer of fun, keeping the music sharp, playful and ready to tip into chaos at any moment.

Beneath all the glitter, thrusting and holy misbehaviour, there is also something genuinely touching here. JEEZUS! understands how heavy religious shame can be, especially when queerness is treated as something to confess rather than celebrate. The cleverness of the show is that it does not turn that into a lecture. It turns it into a party. It takes guilt, dresses it up, gives it a microphone and lets it sing for its life.

By the end, JEEZUS! feels like a tiny miracle. It has the rough and ready spirit of fringe theatre, but also the confidence of a show that knows exactly what it wants to be. It is silly, sexy, sharp and completely loveable.

Camp, cheeky and completely divine, JEEZUS! is queer comedy heaven. Praise be, indeed.

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New Diorama Theatre

Tuesday to Saturday at 7.30pm, with Saturday matinees at 3pm

Running until 9 May 2026

Running time: 69 minutes

Buy Tickets Here