And Juliet

& Juliet

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Reviewed by Nikki Cotter

Opening Night verdict ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

After bursting onto the musical theatre scene back in 2019, & Juliet has gone from strength to strength. There’s been a hugely successful West End residency, an on-going Broadway run, a recently announced US tour, a critically acclaimed Aussie offering and now a triumphant return to where it all began for the start of its first ever UK tour.

This joyful jukebox musical featuring Max Martin’s biggest bops rewrites The Bard’s tragic tale introducing some much-needed herstory, style and sass to proceedings.

After Anne Hathaway (Lara Denning) tells hubby William Shakespeare (Matt Cardle) that his penned ending isn’t exactly a barrel of laughs, she sets about rewriting Juliet’s (Gerardine Sacdalan) story herself, opening up a whole new world for the star-crossed lover. As Juliet (with a little help from Hathaway) realises she wasn’t the only recipient of Romeo’s sweet nothings, she takes herself off on a road trip of self-discovery with nurse Angelique (Sandra Marvin), bestie May (Jordan Broatch) and ‘other best friend April’, Anne Hathaway, who cleverly writes herself into the story.

What follows is an absolute masterclass in musical theatre, from knock-out vocals to killer choreography, & Juliet has it all. This wonderfully diverse cast fuelled with classic pop hits and an infectious energy make this a sparkling night to remember.

The book, penned by Emmy Award-winning Schitt’s Creek writer David West Read is as witty as you’d expect with micro-storylines introducing us to brilliantly written characters. While Jenn Webber’s iconic choreography perfectly emulates the nineties and noughties biggest bangers.

As Hathaway and Shakespeare, Lara Denning and Matt Cardle weave in and out of the narrative guiding us as both authors of the piece and players in the story, with Ann ultimately redesigning her own destiny too.

The pair have an incredible warmth and superb chemistry as they bounce off each other brilliantly. Their vocals blend beautifully while Denning receives a well-deserved mid-show standing ovation for her stunning rendition of Celine Dion’s That’s The Way It Is.

Gerardine Sacdalan is a smart and sassy Juliet, her powerhouse vocals more than do justice to the pop classics she so perfectly delivers, every note is pure pop perfection. From her first moments on stage you know this performance is going to be something special.

Jordan Broatch gives a beautifully executed performance as May with their delivery of Britney’s I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman packing an incredibly emotional punch while Kyle Cox as love interest Francois adds an unexpected yet brilliant twist to proceedings.

Sandra Marvin as Angelique is a scream. Her pairing with Ranj Singh (otherwise known as TV’s Dr Ranj) is pure joy, as she unleashes her inner urges the duo provides some of the biggest laughs of the night, it’s clear they’re having as much fun on stage as the audience is watching them.

Then of course there is Romeo who Jack Danson plays superbly. He’s a dorky douche bag who has made himself familiar with many a balcony, much to Juliette’s surprise.

The leads are supported by in incredibly talented ensemble who under Luke Sheppard’s direction really take this show to the next level. Their vocals are effortlessly on point through every complex piece of choreography, they are totally mesmerising.

& Juliet is a breath of fresh air, its infectious sense of joy will lift your spirit and warm your heart while it’s empowering themes will ensure you leave the theatre with a little more sass and sparkle than when you arrived. It’s well-researched historical references mixed with its celebratory themes, mega hits and hilarious script result in a truly gorgeous piece of theatre, the perfect night out for music lovers of all ages, poptastic!

& Juliet is on at Manchester’s Opera House until Saturday 20th July before heading across the UK and Ireland on tour tickets available here.

Interview | & Juliet | Miriam-Teak Lee

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Here at Opening Night there are a few things we really, really love: 1 of them is Shakespeare another is pop music, especially if said pop music is written by the legend that is Max Martin. Our interest was well and truly peaked when we heard another of our favourites, director Luke Sheppard would be at the helm of a brand new musical which would combine these two mediums and better still it would officially open in Manchester!

Now with less than two weeks until the first hotly anticipated performance of & Juliet we were lucky enough to join the cast during rehearsals to get a feel for this innovative production; hearing a little more about what audiences can expect from key members of the talented cast as they prepare to wow Manchester ahead of an autumn West End run.

Taking on the iconic role of Juliet is award-winning musical theatre superstar Miriam-Teak Lee who gave us some inside information on the starting point for this epic new production.

“We know how the ending is supposed to go but in this production we reimagine the ending and wonder what would happen if Juliet doesn’t kill herself? She looks up to the stars and asks that there must be something else for her destiny, she just knows that this final path isn’t it for her.”

We learn quite early on that Juliet realises there’s more to life than first love (thank goodness) and so the story develops with the use of much-loved Max Martin songs placed throughout the production cleverly moving the narrative along. “It’s really a story of empowerment” said Miriam-Teak “Anne Hathaway who is played by Cassidy Janson is basically taking the quill off Shakespeare and leading us in a new narrative, saying ‘Actually I think this would be a much better ending to that play.’ With all musicals I think songs are used at the point where speaking is no longer enough, you can’t express what you are trying to say so you take it into a different forum, that being music.”

The production is literally teaming with hit after hit from legendary songwriter Max Martin: Britney Spears’ “Oops… I Did It Again”, Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody”, Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do”, and The Weeknd’s “I Can’t Feel My Face to name but a few, Miriam-Teak told us about one of her favourites. “Hit Me Baby One More Time as Juliet’s first song it’s amazing to sing, I think it’s just perfect for Juliet, there are beautiful strings, and it’s been done in such a creative way which makes it sooooo dramatic. Juliet sings the song in the moment she is potentially going to kill herself to join Romeo, she is literally looking to the heavens saying ‘give me a sign’ it’s so clever, these songs that we know so well take on a totally different meaning.”

Recreating an iconic character could be quite a daunting task but Miriam-Teak looks at playing Juliet in this new production as something to embrace. “At first I thought this is really huge how am I going to do this? But then I realised in originating the role within this new piece I don’t have to live up to anything else and I have an opportunity to breathe new life into who she is. Taking what we already know about Juliet onto a brand new journey actually feels amazing so it’s definitely excitement I’m feeling rather than pressure.”

Intrigued by the combination of contemporary Max Martin songs and the works of Shakespeare Miriam-Teak gave us a little insight into what we can expect from the costumes, “Oh wow they are amazing, Paloma Young is doing such an incredible job on them. It’s a world in-between the Renaissance period so we have corsets but then then we have more modern elements too so we’re placed between today and several centuries ago. The colour palette is absolutely beautiful too, audiences will love them. Add in Jennifer Webber’s choreography and it feels like a world in-between a musical and a concert, Jen does such a great job of bringing those two worlds together.”

The overwhelming feeling we get from spending time with the cast in rehearsals are that of real joy and empowerment, Miriam-Teak tells us what she hopes audiences will take away from this new musical. “I think the story really is about self-discovery and finding love within yourself which I think is just so important especially in this day and age with the social media era that we’re in and how many people look to others to find the love they are unable to find within. I think it’s so great that we can bring that message of finding your power within yourself to other people.”

Miriam-Teak summed up perfectly why Manchester audiences should be booking their & Juliet tickets asap, “If you want to see a complete spectacle of excitement and energy featuring songs that you know done in a completely different way you won’t even be ready but you will LOVE it!”

& Juliet opens at Manchester’s Opera House on Tuesday 10th September and runs until Saturday 12th October tickets available here