As success at last year’s Edinburgh Festival, and an eight-week run in London shows, Dylan MarcAurele’s musical is a solid fringe hit. It’s a high-camp romp about Renaissance artists Michelangelo and Leonardo, with a lot of laughs, catchy songs and plenty of fun.
Reframing the Renaissance has been fashionable for a long time, with contemporary references and viewpoints adding an edge. It’s easy to think of connections to Six, and the opening number here enforces that impression. But Pop Off, Michelangelo! is aimed at an adult crowd. And, it seems fair to say, a crowd of gay men. So many of the references are about (one kind of) gay culture that the show starts to parody itself. Jokes about RuPaul’s Drag Race and ‘internet boyfriends’ abound. But MarcAurele knows his market and delivers… or should that be slays?
There is a message, or rather a statement, about how painful homophobia can be. Our heroes, played by Max Eade and Aidan MacColl, meet when they’re young and scared about being gay. Their sexuality threatens their lives and careers. What passes as a plot is their plan of working for the Pope and then persuading him to save them from hell. Written down, it’s sad as well as silly. So, credit to director Joe McNeice and his cast for keeping the energy and the atmosphere up, up, up.
There are reservations around the show. It’s not that the jokes are rude, but that that they don’t all land. Nor are the songs and lyrics bad, but the quality is inconsistent. MarcAurele appreciates the need for a good villain and gives us Sixtus, Savonarola and Machiavelli. But despite the efforts of Michael Marouli, Laura Sillett and Sev Keoshgerian, who all work very hard, these baddies need more time and more depth.
More heartfelt moments make a neat contrast with all the foolery. Leonardo’s romance with a fellow pupil at the Platonic Academy (a role Kurran Dhand gets a lot from) is sweet, and there’s good song for the two of them. Putting an emphasis on friendship, rather than romance, gives the show potential standout. Eade and MacColl make their characters endearing and have good chemistry.
There are crazy touches, too, often welcome in a musical, including Leonardo’s vision of Marisa Tomei (leading to number that allows Maiya Quansah-Breed to shine). Surprises sustain the madcap energy but, at just over an hour long, it’s hard not to find it all a bit slight (short musicals are a tough ask). Maybe the show should be viewed as part of a bigger night out – something that sets the mood for fun? Pop Off, Michelangelo! returns to Edinburgh this year, and could well be around again soon.
Until 13 July 2025