Drag Race UK Season 5 runner-up transforms into a bedazzled, vaping Pope in London’s campest new musical comedy
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 5 runner-up Michael Marouli is taking the West End by storm in the outrageously camp musical comedy ‘Pop Off, Michelangelo!’ playing at the Underbelly Boulevard in Soho until July 13.
The high-energy production, which received stellar reviews during its Edinburgh Festival Fringe run, follows besties-turned-bitter rivals Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci as they compete to become the greatest religious artists of all time after realising they’re both gay.
Marouli, who has embraced a whirlwind of opportunities since his time on Drag Race, plays a hilariously unhinged version of the Pope – complete with a gold embroidered jacket that has “STAY LIT” emblazoned on the back “like it’s a Bible verse,” according to the performer.
“It’s just the perfect fit for me,” Marouli told me on Queerly’s Stage and Stream podcast. “It’s queer. It’s funny. It’s hilarious. It’s stupid, but it’s got heart. And I just fell in love with the script when I got it.”
The character is described as a “spoilt, arrogant, rich kid” who’s “oblivious to everything, to the bigger stakes at hand with regards to the church.” When developing the role, Marouli was given creative freedom: “The director was amazing. They were like, ‘How do you see this character?’ They didn’t say to me, ‘Right, this is what we want you to do.’ This is how we see it. They were like, ‘No, what’s your take on it?’ So I just took that and ran with it and created this monster, this masterpiece that they love.”
The show has been garnering rave reviews, with The Stage calling it “fresh, filthy and surprisingly uplifting” and West End Frame declaring “the whole thing bangs” in their five-star review.
For Marouli, transitioning from drag performances to scripted theatre has been an exciting evolution. “With things like the Angels of the North and when I did the Bob the Drag Queen thing, it’s very much that’s my own kind of project… To be part of something where you’re following a script and you’ve got a director and a choreographer telling you everything to do, it’s brilliant. It’s such a new skill to learn and I’ve been like a sponge.”
What sets ‘Pop Off, Michelangelo!’ apart is its perfect blend of pop culture references, comedic moments, and unexpected heart. “There’s little things in there, little Real Housewives references, musical theatre stuff, drag race, all these kind of little things that I just love anyway,” Marouli explains. “When you can deliver that with a straight face, the audience love it because they get the reference.”
For anyone still undecided about booking tickets, Marouli has a clear message: “Stop thinking and get those tickets booked right now. It is going to be the best night of your life. We are the gayest, campest, funnest show in London right now. You will not regret it. You’ll leave the theatre with a smile.”
‘Pop Off, Michelangelo!’ features an electropop original score played by a live band and runs at the Underbelly Boulevard in Soho until July 13. Tickets are available now.
For the full interview with Michael Marouli, listen to Queerly’s Stage and Stream podcast with Harvey Morton.