& Juliet at New Wimbledon Theatre

I will make no secret of the fact that I am an existing fan of & Juliet having seen it in the West End twice and have had the cast recording on repeat more times than I care to mention. I was therefore a mixture of excited to see the show again whilst at the same time nervous about what changes may have been made so it could tour.

The show itself uses the songwriter, Max Martin’s music to retell Juliet (of Romeo & Juliet fame!) to give Juliet more autonomy. This stance is spurred on by a discussion between Shakespeare and his wife, Anne who convinces her husband to let her help finish writing the show. We therefore pick up the show at Romeo’s death bed and rather than Juliet killing herself also she uses it to springboard onto a new one. We follow Juliet to Paris along with her friend May and her Nurse Angelique where we meet Lance and his son who is being pushed into marriage by his family.

The book by David West Read is fun and unashamedly cheesy in places but rather than shy away from this the story embraces it and it is a better show for it. Whilst the show is very much centred around the fun side of things there are still moments which move or make a point. The twist in the approach to Juliet’s story and using this to give her agency of her own is brilliant as is the sensitivity that May’s journey is portrayed with.

It isn’t until you see & Juliet that you realise just how many huge hits Max Martin has written, numerous Backstreet Boy and Britney Spears songs feature, as well as ‘Domino,’ ‘Sine You’ve Been Gone,’ ‘Roar,’ and ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling.’ These pop songs are all brilliant songs in their own right but performed within the show it really elevates them to a new level. Whilst many of the songs were written well over a decade ago they all felt very fresh thanks to new arrangements and also choreography by Jennifer Weber that was anything but dated. This brilliance of the original song and the nostalgia wave it gave the audience, combined with the new take on the music meant that music sits perfectly with todays audience.

Leading the cast as Juliet herself was Gerardine Sacdalan who was utterly mesmerising. She captured the tightrope that this Juliet is struggling with between being naïve when it comes to matters of love contrasted to giving her agency perfectly. In numbers such as Roar, even when the full company were on stage you are unable to take your eyes off her. Another standout performance was Lara Denning as Anne who got one of the biggest applauses of the night for ‘That’s The Way It Is.’ Her vocal prowess combined with her natural comedic flair meant that you warmed to her from the start. Jordan Broatch as May also combined their vulnerability with warmth making sure that May was a character that the whole audience were invested in.

The star casting in this show partly comes from Ranj Singh aka Dr Ranj however whilst this part is one of the more flamboyant roles it still felt like they were in a pantomime and others around them in a musical which jarred. Jay McGuiness took on the role of Shakespeare to some success and whilst he has good rock vocals he failed to convince me in his more tender moments with Anne.

It is often on a tour where the show has to be scaled down to make it work however whilst there were (understandably) a few changes in terms of set from the West End the production values still felt incredibly high. The video wall at the back provided us with ever changing backdrops and the ability for Juliet to swing from chandeliers or fly to the moon was not lost in this production and really helped maintain the wow factor of the show. The lighting design by Howard Hudson also deserves a mention – it embraced the gig like feel of the show in the big numbers yet also made the ballads feel intimate, even in a huge venue like New Wimbledon Theatre. The costumes design by Paloma Young also played into the idea of Shakespeare with a twist, with Tudor influences but spiced up with leather jackets, converse and denim and ensured that the costumes and set felt like a cohesive package wit the story and music.

& Juliet is a brilliant example of what can be done when jukebox musicals are done well, brilliant songs, a story that entertains as well as poses food for thought, combined with an epic set, lighting and costume design. It just leaves me to say that this show is pretty ‘Fuckin’ Perfect.’

& Juliet is playing at New Wimbledon theatre until 1st February and it then continues it’s tour. You can book tickets here.

If you like this review you might also like my review of Back to the Future, Starlight Express and Mean Girls.

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