By Sally Churchward.
The world can feel like a very bleak place, sometimes more so than others.
Yesterday was definitely one of those days.
But & Juliet last night (6/11/24) at the Mayflower Theatre was exactly the feelgood and more full frontal reminder that there is also joy to be had.
I went to the show expecting a good night – a cast with some household names performing an updated/reimagined version of Romeo and Juliet penned by Schitts Creak writer David West Read, to the musical back catalogue of multiple hit-writer Max Martin, I mean, come on!
But I wasn’t fully prepared for the warm, passionate, seamless celebration of diversity, inclusion, women’s rights, and oh my goodness, such good songs.
It’s time for a confession – I’m not generally keen on musicals – the cue for a song, sometimes the songs themselves, the often predictable storylines.
But I had a feeling this would be different, and I was right.
Of course, when you have songs made famous by the likes of Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake and Kelly Clarkson, you know you are going to hear some bangers, but the show went beyond its raw materials, expertly using the songs, and sometimes tweaking them, to tell and add to the story.
A high bar was set early on when a thumping heartbeat sound filled the packed auditorium as Juliet slumped against a tomb having found Romeo dead, which became the intro to the most passionate version of Hit Me Baby One More Time you’ll probably ever hear.
I don’t want to go into too much detail about the story and how it unfolds because rather than being a predictable journey, I really didn’t know how it was going to end.
I didn’t love the beginning of the show. With the house lights up, various members of the company wandered onto the stage in character, waved at the audience, chatted with each other or danced around, seemingly to the jukebox on stage. They were in an interesting blend of renaissance-style clothing and modern garb, complimenting the ‘Shakespeare but updated’ theme of the show.
For me, it made for rather a flat start – I wasn’t sure whether to turn my focus fully to the stage or continue flicking through the programme, and landed somewhere between the two.
But this start did contribute to an important aspect of the show – the blending of performance and ‘reality’. & Juliet is a play within a play, which also then interact with each other. It sounds more complicated than it is!
The action opens with Shakespeare sharing the ending to his new play, Romeo and Juliet with his cast and his wife, Anne Hathaway, who has escaped childcare for the evening and is very much up for a Big Night Out.
Anyone who has ever felt the ending of Shakespeare’s big romance was a bit disappointing would be pleased to see their feelings echoed on stage – a ripple of pleasure went round the audience when Anne responded to her husband telling her that ‘the ending doth been writ,’ with the words ‘the ending’s shit.’
The couple argue over the play, via a clever duet using Backstreet Boys’ I Want it That Way.
Anne then proceeds to rewrite the play, or rather to continue Juliet’s story, picking up the action at the point where she finds Romeo dead and, rather than taking her own life, moves on without him.
But Shakespeare doesn’t fully cede his quill to her and the pair take turns to write the ‘what happened next’ tale, with some unexpected and delightful twists and turns.
Meanwhile, both Hathaway and Shakespeare appear as characters in the play within a play – Hathaway as Juliet’s friend April, Shakespeare as a carriage driver, and move back out, to be husband and wife again.
There are so many things to love about this show. Brilliant use is made of the songs. Highlights include non-binary character May (played excellently by Jordan Broach) exploring their gender identity in a way that gives Britney Spears’ I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman a whole new dimension, and the amazing Gerardine Sacdalan belting out Since You’ve Been Gone to demonstrate how she’s moved on since the original Shakespeare version of her story.
The love triangle, or rather love square, between the four younger characters, and romances between two pairs of older characters are expertly written and played out.
The cast is universally strong but even amongst such stellar company, Gerardine Sacdalan shone as the absolute star of the show. Every time she took to the stage it seemed more vivid. Her voice was stunning, firmly backed up with fantastic dancing and acting.
Former X-Factor winner Matt Cardle made a brilliant cocky but likeable Shakespeare, while Lara Denning as Anne had her own standing ovation partway through the show thanks to her stunning vocals.
TV star Dr Ranj Singh also provided plenty of laughs as Lance, while Jack Danson played Romeo to comic perfection, giving off humorous Edward Cullen vibes.
As well as stellar songs, the show was packed with witty one-liners, some moving speeches, and believable characterisation.
If you need a pick me up on these dark November days, to be reminded that a world full of colour, joy, love and celebration is possible, get yourself to the Mayflower for & Juliet.
Tickets for & Juliet (Tuesday 5 – Saturday 9 November 2024) are on sale at mayflower.org.uk or 02380 711811.
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Interview: Matt Cardle and Lara Denning on their roles in & Juliet at Mayflower Theatre