Those screeching block capitals and exclamation mark are not an accident – this is a full on exploration of the cultural clash between Catholicism and queerness.
The show is set in 1990s Peru, to the backdrop of the military coup that heralded a decade of dictatorship under the rule of President Fujimori. One of his lieutenants has been trying to conceive, and his devoted wife María makes a promise to God in return for a child – leading to the birth of miracle boy Jesús.
Fast forward fifteen years and as Jesús prepares for his first communion, he takes his love for his loincloth-clad saviour a little too literally, as his religious dedication clashes with his emerging – and in the eyes of the church – sinful sexuality.
The show is part of the Rewrites programme that helps develop new musicals, which counts Operation Mincemeat among its previous successes, but this show is a million miles from that stiff upper class silliness. Certain things are definitely still stiff however.
Featuring original songs and interpretations of iconic pop numbers, it explodes in a burst of innuendo and double-ended entendres that get inserted into multiple orifices. It doesn’t, er, mince its approach to the often paradoxical world of Catholicism, where men in dresses feed you the literal flesh of Christ while claiming homosexuality is a mortal sin.
It is rude, and certainly offensive to many, but it is also deeply layered with smart religious references. Writer and performer Sergio Antonio Maggiolo was heavily influenced by his own experiences growing up gay in Latin America, and it’s a show that clearly comes from someone deeply immersed in religion.
Alongside Guido Garcia he gives a spirited and committed performance – much of the show is over exaggerated, but their pause for breath and water after one particularly frenetic regime seemed genuine.
The show is definitely more semen-ary than seminary, and for those with faith it is likely to be seen as distasteful in the extreme, whatever your view of its ultimate message that love, in all its stripes, is a good and powerful thing.
For the more than half of Norwich residents who profess to having no religion, it’s a funny, inventive, and redemptive story about finding your own path to love. With added nipple tassels.
Take your pick and book your tickets accordingly.
- JEEZUS! continues at Norwich Theatre Stage Two until Saturday 7 November 2026.