With JEEZUS! having a sold-out run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe last year, Sergio Antonio Maggiolo has taken their five-star review show to London, where it is currently open at New Diorama Theatre until Saturday 9th May. Sergio wrote the book, music and lyrics for JEEZUS! and, in the two-hander production, Sergio plays Jesús opposite their collaborator and partner Guido Garcia Lueches, who plays the rest of the characters. Last year, Sergio was the director for Copla: A Spanish Cabaret for its run at The Other Palace, with their other projects including being the artistic director for Degenerate Fox / Un Intento Valiente / The Infinite Wrench and, for Guido’s theatre company Say It Again, Sorry?, they were The Narrator in Not Our Play and played Algernon in The Importance of Being… Earnest?. We spoke to Sergio about having the London premiere of their show JEEZUS! open at New Diorama Theatre, performing at last year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe and being the artistic director of Degenerate Fox / Un Intento Valiente / The Infinite Wrench.
Your play JEEZUS! is making its London premiere at New Diorama Theatre until Saturday 9th May; can you tell us about the show?
JEEZUS! is a musical about an altar boy who falls in love with our Lord and Saviour, Jeezus Christ! It is based on my real-life experience growing up Catholic in conservative Latin America. It is a hilarious and intimate take on the structures of faith and power that profess love but enable hatred at the same time. There is anti-colonial reggaeton, holy salsa, and naughty ballads, and it’s full of queer heart.
How was it performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last summer and seeing the response to the sold-out run, which led to numerous five-star reviews?
It was beyond our wildest dreams. We were so privileged to have the support of the Untapped family and to use those resources to try and make a big splash. We were so happy to see that the play connected with a wider audience than we expected, and we have been able to harvest that success into new opportunities <3.
What are you looking forward to about transferring JEEZUS! to London, and how are you preparing for opening night?
OMG. We are about to start rehearsals for this new “reloaded” version of the play. We will have a live musician for the first time and a new, sexier stage design. I’m doing cardio and rewriting some bits to make it hit harder. Did I mention a new song? We wrote a new song!
How did the idea of JEEZUS! come about and how long has it been in the making?
JEEZUS! started as a way to reconcile my Catholic upbringing which – as many queer people know – is full of mixed messages like “God loves you” but “gays go to hell”. My family has always been loving and supportive, and has used religion as a way of expressing love. That contradiction fascinated me, so I wrote a silly musical to laugh at it, but also to ask hard questions about authority, spirituality, and love.
What was it like writing the book, music, and lyrics, and how much has the production changed over time?
The show is always changing. Sondheim used to say musical comedies aren’t written – they’re rewritten. Actually, JEEZUS! wasn’t even a musical when we started; it found its form through feedback and trials. It went from a personal monologue to a storytelling cabaret, to a musical, and now we really are taking the concept to the limit. It’s my first musical, so it’s also been a huge learning curve on how all the ingredients (music, movement, lyrics, spoken text) work together.
What do you enjoy most about performing in a two-hander opposite your collaborator and partner Guido Garcia Lueches?
I love him so much more every time. I feel so lucky and blessed to have his talent, his sense of humour, and his creative genius behind this story. I have a blast performing with him, and I learn so much from him every time. It’s not always easy – because creative spaces can be tricky, messy, and vulnerable – but we have learned how to best work together and definitely come out stronger on the other side. I’m just so in love with that man, damn.
Who do you play in the show, and what is the story like to tell?
I play JesĂşs, and Guido plays every other character. We both play the narrators as well, but the real shapeshifter is G. The running joke is that I wrote it so Guido does most of the heavy lifting and I just pull funny faces.
Why would you recommend booking tickets to see JEEZUS! at New Diorama Theatre in London and who do you think the show will appeal to?
Because it really is a hilarious show. The music is great, and people have told us it has been healing as well. I think the show will appeal to a very diverse group of people – anyone who has or has had any kind of relationship with Jesus or the Church, which is a lot of us. Obviously, I’d want all my fellow queer Latinos there, but in Edinburgh, we found that people from all generations and all walks of life love the show. I think it’s hard not to love it – of course, I’m biased, I wrote it!
Last year, Copla: A Spanish Cabaret had a run at The Other Palace; what was it like directing the production?
It was fantastic. It was my first time directing musicians on stage, as well as developing a show that blends traditional Spanish elements with a contemporary queer twist. An important story about the rise of fascism, censorship, and queer liberation. Sound familiar?
Can you tell us about working on Degenerate Fox / Un Intento Valiente / The Infinite Wrench, for which you are the artistic director?
Of course! I’m the artistic director of Un Intento Valiente, which is the Spanish-language version of The Infinite Wrench (US) and Degenerate Fox (UK). It is a show where the ensemble writes, directs, and performs 30 two-minute plays, all written in a style called Neo-Futurism, which is political, autobiographical, absurdist theatre.
I first met the Neo-Futurists when I was training in New York, then became a founding member of the UK company. In 2018, I exported the show to Lima. The company there does around three runs a year, always changing the 30 plays on the menu. In 2022, I took it to Spain, where they run weekly.
How was it performing in Not Our Play as The Narrator and The Importance of Being… Earnest? as Algernon with the Say It Again, Sorry? theatre company?
This is actually Guido’s company, with whom I did those two shows (hilariously, I covered for Guido in Earnest? ages ago). They are amazing, and they do something so unique that is really groundbreaking. I love them as prople and as creatives, because both shows (and others they are working on) really redefine what theatre can be, while remaining hilarious and poignant.
Where does your love of performing, writing, and directing come from and how did you get into the industry?
I was a theatre kid in school, and being in the rehearsal room surrounded by theatre people was my favourite thing. I loved that my quirky nature was celebrated in those spaces, and I was very lucky to have really good teachers and mentors along the way. In secondary school, I did clowning and improv, and was cast in a couple of movies and TV shows in Peru. Then I became a teacher myself, and helped other people develop work. Later, I trained in New York, which was incredible. It’s always been about collaborating with other creatives and the human connection I make with theatre-makers and audiences.
What are some of your favourite theatre shows to watch and what would you like to see that you haven’t yet?
I love to watch stuff that I’ve never seen before – anything that contains good “stage pictures” that are new or inventive ways to tell stories. I enjoy parody and the absurd, but the classics are classics for a reason too. I love shows by people who take the job seriously but don’t take themselves too seriously. Most of all, I enjoy watching people having a good time on stage. I want to see more championing of immigrant stories by the big houses.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I love to walk. I go for long walks in the city. I play board games, hang out outdoors with friends, and I love cooking and hosting people for dinner and travel. But I’m happiest chilling with Guido at home, or visiting family and friends in Peru.
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