You know within about ten seconds of entering the New Diorama Theatre, exactly what kind of show you’re in for. Before anything even starts, you sit there taking in the set, which feels like some kind of soft, surreal cloudscape – warm light, stained glass windows, flowers and decorations adorn large gold frames. And then you notice them. Dotted around the design, woven into the detail of the decorations… gold penises. Big ones, small ones (some as big as your head), all gleaming just enough to make sure you’ve c(l)ocked them.
Subtle? Not even slightly. But very, very clear.
This is JEEZUS!
Billed as an irreverent, euphoric South American musical comedy about faith, queerness and self-discovery, it turns out that’s actually a very accurate description. Set in 1990s Peru under dictatorship, it follows Jesús, born to a devout mother and a father working for the regime, as he grows up navigating religion, politics, and the slow realisation that he might not be who the world expects him to be.
That all sounds quite heavy. It isn’t. Or rather, it never feels heavy.
From the opening clap of thunder, dropping us into “Genesis” (via Bethlehem… Lima, Peru), the show makes it clear that nothing here will be treated with reverence. The 70 minute show is broken into chapters – Genesis, The Commandments, The Promised Land, The Last Supper, Apocalypse – but what unfolds within them is part musical and part beautifully unhinged chaos.
Sergio Antonio Maggiolo plays Jesús, guiding us through his own story, while his partner in life and theatre, Guido Garcia Lueches, plays… pretty much everyone else. Parents, priests, cousins, even Jesus Christ himself. It’s a proper two-hander, and the speed and clarity with which Guido switches between characters is seriously impressive. There’s no confusion, even when things get deliberately chaotic. Guido also drives the musical side of the show from within the performance, giving it a constant sense of momentum. And momentum is key here, because the show never really slows down.
There’s audience participation at times – clapping, singing along, being told off by a camp but angry priest for not joining in. At one point, an audience member gets publicly reprimanded in a way that has the whole room in stitches. Not everyone fully commits to the joining in, which is always the gamble with this kind of thing, especially in the UK, but enough do to make it work.
You can feel that the music is pulling from all over the place – hymns, Latin styles, pop, rock – which is probably why it sometimes feels like a slightly unhinged queer South American Flight of the Conchords. The songs are funny, catchy, and often completely ridiculous, but they’re also doing more than just going for laughs. Musical supervisor and orchestrator Tommaso Cagnoni, performing live on the side of the stage, underpins it all with energetic percussion and instrumentation as well as being occasionally pulled into the action himself.
What’s so clever is how the show handles its themes. There’s a brilliant number about colonialism and Peru’s relationship with the United States, played for laughs but with a sharp edge. There’s a family dinner scene where Jesús begins to reveal something about himself, only to be completely shut down by his father, who casually talks about violence against gay people as if it’s nothing, as if it’s to be celebrated. “Faggot? What that means Dad” asks the 14 year old Jesús as his mother tries to keep smiling.
And yet, it never takes itself too seriously.
That’s the real trick JEEZUS! pulls off. It deals with ideas that could easily become bleak – religion, repression, internalised shame – but it keeps everything playful, silly, and full of energy. The jokes keep coming. The songs stay funny. Even the more provocative moments, including one involving a crucifix that goes well beyond simple irreverence, are handled with the same rebellious spirit.
You’re laughing the whole time, but you’re not missing the point.
Maggiolo’s performance sits right at the centre of that balance. His singing isn’t the most polished you’ll hear on a London stage, but that’s not really what matters here. What he brings is commitment, warmth, and a sense that this story genuinely means something to him. Even at its silliest, there’s a thread of sincerity running through it. It’s all heightened and ridiculous, but it’s clearly coming from a place of looking back – an adult trying to make sense of childhood shame and desire, and turning it into something funny rather than painful.
By the end, what’s been bubbling under the surface becomes clear as a bell. There’s a message about self-acceptance, about rejecting the idea that love can ever be wrong, and about finding your own way through the stories you’ve been handed by others.
JEEZUS! is messy, loud, outrageous, and unapologetically queer. It delivers an important message with humour and passion. It’s joyful, inventive, and more thought provoking than you might expect. And yes, OH YES…. there are a lot of gold penises!
Jeezus! is playing at The New Diorama theatre until 9th May 2026.
Get your tickets at newdiorama.com
Words by Nick Barr
Photography by Alex Brenner
