Jesus My Boy: A One-Man Show by John Dowie
£11.00
From humble origins at the 1995 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, this one-
man play has been performed in translation and in English throughout
the world.
Taking one of the oldest stories in the world, John Dowie achieves
the almost impossible feat of giving it a fresh perspective by plac-
ing Joseph centre-stage. Marginalised in the Bible as well as in
art and literature this is Joseph’s chance to give his version of
the Madonna and Child story. Stepping out of the shadows and
into the limelight, Joseph shakes off his image of a dutiful but sex-
less octogenarian and we see instead a man who is warm, funny,
vulnerable yet unconditionally loving.
Cathryn O’Neill, Glasgow Herald
John Dowie’s take on the biblical tale is a touching, affectionate
and thoroughly absorbing piece of drama. Yes, there are jokes in
this stunning monologue – and a couple of them are real belters –
but this is not a rat-a-tat- tat gag fest, but a warm and intelligent
treatment of perhaps the best-known tale. This truly is a divine
comedy.
Steve Bennett, Chortle
Jesus My Boy is an unusual hybrid: sympathetic to Christianity
yet far from proselytising, intellectually rigorous yet easily acces-
sible; simply staged but multi-layered; full of light humour and
deep pain; it is, in short, a triumph of contrasts.
Andrew Burnet, The List Edinburgh
THIS IS A PRE-ORDER for a paperback book, shipping in the first week of April 2026.
