Be Gay, For God’s Sake, produced by Oh My My, comes to Voila! Festival next month.
“Be Gay, For God’s Sake is a sharp, time-bending queer new-writing drama told with a dose of satirical mischief.
When a Christian mother fails to accept her daughter’s gay relationship, divine intervention digs up her forgotten queer past in a small town, Inner Mongolia. Inspired by real events.
This is a fast-paced journey through family, faith, and words that never got said—where queerness rubs up against culture, shame, and generational silence.
Told with cheekiness, a bit of God, and a lot of tenderness, this play will make you laugh and cry at the same time.”
Where: Theatre Deli
When: 14-22 Nov
Ticket link: https://www.voilafestival.co.uk/events/be-gay-for-gods-sake/
Haoyu Wang, Tianxin Tian, and Hector TJ Huang, the trio behind Oh My My, and producer Katherine (Meiyu) Guo tell us more about the show.
Tell me a bit about your show. Where did the idea come from?
Be Gay, For God’s Sake by Oh My My is a new bold East Asian queer comedy, about the generational gap, and how the last generations deal with their queerness. It’s about those unsaid love and buried stories.
The inspiration for Be Gay, For God’s Sake actually came from the conversations we’ve had with our own families as young East Asian queers. It’s not just about queerness — it’s also about cultural expectations, conformity, and desire.
These were struggles that queer people from the older generation faced too. As the younger generation, we used to have a hard time understanding some of the choices they made, but that lack of understanding just made the generational gaps feel even bigger.
And as we’ve grown and learned more about society, we started to see that a lot of the decisions the older generation made weren’t really choices at all — they were things they “had to do” because of the circumstances they were in.
To try to get a sense of what those “had-to” moments were like, we started thinking: if time were a variable, what if we could go back and really see the pressures and limits society put on them back then?
We know that those problems couldn’t really be solved, and no one can really go back and change the past. But in Be Gay, For God’s Sake, we wanted to create a space to give them — and ourselves — a sense of closure.
That’s why we brought in the character of God and a time-jumping structure, and why we tell the story with satire and dark humor. We wanted to give each character a sense of closure.
For us, this felt like the most honest way to honour those untold stories, and to show that an external, so-called “open” perspective — even from God — doesn’t always provide the answers.
Why should audiences choose your show? How would you sell it in one sentence?
Audiences should see Be Gay, For God’s Sake because it offers a rare glimpse into a Chinese mother–daughter relationship through an East Asian queer lens — a perspective we rarely see on stage.
Beneath the comedy and chaos lies a hidden story of curiosity, restraint, and what could have been. What makes the show special is that we don’t tell this story in a tragic way.
Instead, we use humor and dark comedy to explore love, silence, and generational misunderstandings, allowing audiences to laugh, reflect, and connect across cultural boundaries.
In a time when people seem increasingly divided by ideology, Be Gay, For God’s Sake asks: what if, instead of condemning those shaped by a different past, we could bridge the distance with laughter? What if we could show how absurd our prejudices are — even among those we love most?
Though rooted in an East Asian context, the show speaks to something universal: the shared resilience and quiet love within the LGBTQIA+ community across generations.
In one sentence: Be Gay, For God’s Sake — where divine chaos meets queer secrets, mother–daughter drama, and the love stories that never got to happen.
What does being part of the Voila! Festival mean to you?
Being part of the Voila! Festival means a lot to us because it’s a chance to bring Be Gay, For God’s Sake to new audiences and hear fresh feedback from people with different perspectives.
The festival celebrates global voices and cross-cultural stories, which really fits what our show is about — queerness, identity, and the things that often go unsaid across generations.
We hope that by sharing this story in such an international and diverse space, more people can understand what social and cultural constraints have meant for the LGBTQIA+ community, and reflect on how those pressures still shape lives today.
It’s exciting to be part of a festival that encourages connection, empathy, and conversation beyond language and culture.
How did you make a start in the industry?
Tianxin Tian: For me, the only real way to start in this industry is to keep making plays and to choose the ones we truly believe in, then keep polishing them, refining every detail, and finding ways to share them with a wider audience.
That’s how a play can really go further. I’ve been making theatre for a few years now, and I still see myself as an emerging artist. Because of the scale of our projects and the lack of funding, we’ve often had to do everything ourselves.
For Oh My My, our trio — Haoyu, Hector, and I — have taken on nearly every role: writing, directing, performing, producing, and marketing. It’s rewarding, but it also made us realise how important it is to have the right people in the right roles.
As creatives, we focus on the art, while others support the practical side and help the work reach its full potential. Having Katherine join us as co-producer for our Voila! Festival run feels like a gamechanger. Her support allows the show to be presented properly and gives us the space to focus on making it better.
Katherine (Meiyu) Guo: I don’t come from a traditional theatre background, I have an honours degree in law. But I’ve loved theatre since high school and always wanted to be part of the industry.
I got my start by joining a fringe show as their marketing lead, which gave me hands-on experience in promoting a production. From there, I gradually expanded into technical roles, managing lighting, sound, and video operations.
This is my first time producing, joining the Be Gay For God’s Sake team, and I’m really excited to contribute my skills and help create a meaningful impact for audiences.
Haoyu Wang: I suppose my start in the industry came quite naturally, really. I’ve always been fascinated by stories that come from real life — I honestly believe everyone’s story deserves to be seen and heard.
I first got into acting because I loved stepping into different people’s lives and seeing the world through their eyes. But as time went on, I found myself wanting to be part of the process of shaping the stories we tell — not just as a performer, but as a collaborator.
I’m really interested in how we can tell stories that feel personal and universal at the same time — stories that reflect different voices and experiences, not just my own.
That’s how this project came about. I was very lucky to meet Tianxin and Hector — we started writing together and developing this piece, and it’s been such a meaningful journey.
After our first couple of runs, we were delighted to have Kassie join us as coproducer, which gave us even more support to bring the show to life.
So I suppose my start wasn’t one big break — it’s been more of a gradual process of following my curiosity, finding a collective voice, and working with brilliant people who share the same passion for storytelling.
Hector T.J. Huang: Did I ever make a start in the industry?… I suppose the heart wants what it wants, even when it doesn’t make sense.
I was born and raised in Taiwan, and in an environment where people never believe that art or theatre can ever be a sustainable career. At 25, after having worked 3 very different jobs, I moved to London and completed a Writing MFA at Central.
I remember my first play A Thousand Papercuts Still Skin Deep getting selected for a run at The Barons Court Theatre and directed by Tianxin, starring Haoyu, in 2022—and that was how the Oh My My gang first met and collaborated.
Before that, I never thought it would be possible for my work to be seen and enjoyed by a house full of audience. Since then, I’ve been producing and performing my own work, often with like-minded creatives I’ve met along the way!
Fast track to 4 years later, I’m working in the commercial theatre production office during the day (musicals pay my bills) and making my own theatre at night and on weekends—I think I did make a start in the industry, though it’s not linear and not glamorous at all.
It’s more like being continuously pulled back into a frenzied passion despite having to bend over backwards constantly, squeezing out time and money that I don’t really have.
Like Tianxin, I still consider myself very much an emerging artist. The goal isn’t to emerge anymore, but to stay on the path where I can keep creating original work.
What’s next for the show?
Following a rewarding creative journey with Be Gay, For God’s Sake, our next step is to build on that momentum and bring the production to a wider stage.
We’re refining the piece both artistically and technically, with plans to strengthen its direction, design, and performance elements to reach its full potential.
We’re also exploring opportunities to tour — with Edinburgh and Taiwan on our radar — and to collaborate with new partners and venues that share our vision.
Our goal is to continue growing the show’s reach while maintaining the creative integrity and bold storytelling that define Oh My My Theatre Company.
For us, this is just the beginning — Be Gay, For God’s Sake has so much more to say, and we’re excited to keep growing its world, connecting with new audiences, and sparking more conversations wherever it goes.