Review: & Juliet

Review: & Juliet

Manchester Opera House: 11th July 2024 by Mark Gabler
⭐⭐⭐⭐

& Juliet is an pretty spectacular night out at the theatre transporting you into a multi-layered world where William Shakespeare (2010 X Factor winner Matt Cardle) and his wife Anne Hathaway are ‘reimagining the ending ‘ of his Romeo & Juliet play with a series of ‘what if’ suggestions – which are kind of executed in a Doctor Who style ‘Timey Wimey’ way (albeit without the benefit of a Tardis.) They appear to be ‘making it up as they go along’ then, after a lighting change, the cast bring their suggestions to life in between a belting soundtrack of Swedish pop songwriter Max Martin’s 90s/00s bangers from pretty much every massive pop prince, princess or boyband of the era.

The way these familiar songs are used though is just awesome – David West Read’s book very cleverly weaves the song lyrics and sometimes hilarious, sometimes tear-jerking dialogue in such a slick manner. Full credit to the entire company as there were no noticeable dropped beats or cues and some spectacular vocals – highlights for me include Juliet actress, newcomer Gerardine Sacdalan, who was hitting some huge notes with gusto yet not dropping any dance steps. Cardle himself was also strong as The Bard and a showstopping performance from Lara Denning (Hathaway) belting a Celine Dion number out of the park!

The levels of ‘slick’ reminded me of seeing ‘Six’ – in terms of staging style and slickness and ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ in terms of modern/inclusive attitudes to LGBTQ+ characters. & Juliet was just amazing – highly recommended!

Get more details and book tickets at the official site HERE