This world-premiere musical explores the ‘un-factchecked’ story of gay besties, Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci. Discovering that sodomites are not in favour with the church, the pair try to play it straight in order to become famous artists. The show opens with a catchy number, ‘I Want To Be Your Renaissance Man’, which immediately draws comparisons to Six, with its combination of well-trodden history retold with witty, contemporary references. 

The production feels unashamedly aimed at a young, queer audience, although some references are so niche that the majority of the (young queer) audience don’t get them. Still, there’s plenty of laughs that do land, from songs such as ‘Don’t Be A Pick-Me Girl’ to the incessantly vaping pope, who listens to Machiavelli’s The Prince as a bedtime podcast. Although the reality of gay persecution is treated in a light-hearted way, the show is not overly sanitised, and certainly not family-friendly. Power bottoms, gay orgies and crude sexual punchlines (‘I want a man to fuck me and for God not to mind’) all get their share of the limelight.

Some of the set-ups are a bit tired, like the obligatory reference to the Mean Girls high-school cafeteria scene, though the show’s medieval take on this is fun: ‘those are the goths; they like gargoyles and pointy buildings.’ The story wraps up chaotically, trying to pack a lot into an hour. But this is an enjoyable (if not ground-breaking) show, packed with plenty of memorable tunes. 

Pop Off, Michelangelo!, Gilded Balloon Patter House, until 26 August, 6.30pm; main picture: Steve Ullathorne.