Review: Pop Off, Michelangelo! Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025

Name: Pop Off, Michelangelo!
Brand: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025
Rating: 4 (1 reviews)

Lisa in the theatre
Aug 12
3 min read

New musical Pop Off, Michelangelo! was a smash hit at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Following a run at the Underbelly Boulevard Soho in London, the revamped show returns to Edinburgh for 2025 and plays the Udderbelly stage at Underbelly, George Square until 25 August.

Max Eade and Aidan MacColl in Pop off, Michelangelo! at Edinburgh Fringe 2025. Photo by Lisa in the Theatre

Pop Off, Michelangelo! Edinburgh 2025 ★★★★☆

Review: 11 August 2025 | Underbelly George Square, Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Pop Off, Michelangelo! is a new musical comedy about childhood friends turned rival artists Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. Set in Renaissance Italy, this outrageous parody musical follows the two besties as they discover that they are both gay and attempt to seek God's forgiveness via the Pope, by becoming the greatest religious artists of all time. As you do.

What you should understand about Pop Off, Michelangelo! the new musical, is that it's not at all serious and it's very rude. The writers admit that the script has not been remotely fact-checked and it's all the funnier for being a bit wild with the truth and absolutely filthy. Who can really say what went down between the Renaissance men of the 15th century?

With a banging electropop score played by a live band, and dynamic, upbeat choreography, these renaissance rebels have a lot to contend with. The cast sashay their way around the stage in a flurry of delightful, colourful costumes by Emily Bestow playing everyone from Italian peasants to Princes. Highlight of the ensemble musical numbers is the opening anthem "Renaissance Man", though there isn't a weak song in the score.

Star casting comes by way of RuPaul's Drag Race UK series 5 queen Michael Marouli who plays the blinged-up Pope here, complete with gold cape and gorgeous Geordie accent. And that's one choice I love about this show in particular: the cast play their roles with their native accents. Marouli performs in her drag queen makeup, her broad Whitley Bay accent and general fabulousness adding to the ridiculousness of the Pope's ostentatious persona.

Likewise, sparkling Scottish actor Aidan MacColl gives us an unapologetically Glaswegian Leonardo da Vinci. MacColl's vocals are some of the strongest in the cast, and with new songs added to the mix for this 2025 version of Pop Off, he has plenty of scope to show off his brilliance. Paired with recent Mountview graduate Max Eade who is exquisite as delicate, yet ambitious tortured artist Michelangelo, the central pair are spellbinding.

The small ensemble cast are great and would have you believe there are many more than just seven of them on stage. Kurran Dhand as Salai, Laura Sillett as Savonarola and Sev Keoshgerian as the Italian chef are all magnificent. But one of the standout performances of the night came from Aoife Haakenson - her song "Pick Me Girl" had the audience euphoric.

It's obvious that Pop Off, Michelangelo! is not your average, rough-cut fringe show. This one has more polish than that - it has already played in London and it shows. The simple set is gorgeous, with the aesthetic design and playful props enhanced by excellent lighting from Adam King and witty video projections from P J McEvoy. Dylan MarcAurele's book is heavy with brilliant pop culture references - it's a laugh-a-minute-riot of a show that teaches us about friendship and loyalty, and maybe just a little bit about renaissance art.

Pop Off, Michelangelo! is the gayest thing I've ever seen. It's about as much crazy, campy fun as you can fit inside a giant upside-down purple cow. With a book that brings two great artists back to life in glorious, flamboyant fashion and a cast that throw themselves into the absurdity of it all, Pop Off, Michelangelo! is filthy, flirty fun and may be your next musical theatre guilty pleasure. ★★★★☆

Pop Off, Michelangelo! plays at the Udderbelly at Underbelly George Square at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe until Monday 25th August 2025. Find more info below.

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