The image of Jesus has been used by some to shame and subjugate queer people across the Christian world, but Alpaqa theatre collective dare to ask: what if Jesus was queer himself? In this cheeky musical comedy, one of the winners of this year’s Untapped award for rising theatrical talent, we meet young Jesús (Sergio Antonio Maggiolo), son of Maria and Jose, who is getting ready to make his first holy communion. It’s not the only first heading his way; a sexual awakening is brewing.

Guido Garcia Lueches plays the other characters – parents, priests and, most magnificently, Jesus himself. The pair bring the show to life with a musical number for each chapter, moving through acoustic ballads to high-octane pop, all with a Latin twist.

The tale unfolds in the Peru of President Fujimori, a strongman leader later charged for ordering killings and kidnappings by his military-led government, in which Jesús’s father is a rising star of the armed forces. The sycophancy of his supporters is explored with a sexy romp of a song: “We will suck your massive dic … tatorship.”

At home, Jose rules with religion and homophobia, leaving little Jesús fearing the feelings stirred when he sees presentations of semi-naked Jesus – on the crucifix and in his city’s beloved Lord of Miracles painting – in a new light. The erotic overtones of religious imagery are explored in another song.

He’s been told to love Jesus, and he does – so why is he made to feel like it’s the wrong kind of love? Whether he hides his sexuality or comes out, he considers himself condemned to suffer.

Jeezus! lightly explores the grip of religious patriarchy and the potential salvation of embracing love with no limits, in a sweet and smutty hour of uplifting musical comedy. As the pair sing at the close: “If love is a mortal sin, let’s burn in hell.”

At Underbelly, Cowgate, Edinburgh, until 24 August