Last night I attended the press night for & Juliet at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre which was decorated with heart-shaped balloons for the occasion. After getting our picture taken we headed to our seats and waited for the show to begin. I didn’t know what to expect from the show, which features hits from producer and songwriter Max Martin, unsure of how a Romeo & Juliet spinoff ends in the cast singing a Katy Perry cover. Nevertheless I was excited to see what the musical had in store.

 

The set was a pastel city backdrop with London locations plastered on the screen behind and a neon sign that read & Juliet. As showtime was drawing closer, members of the ensemble made their way on to the stage, dancing and waving at the audience. It wasn’t long before Shakespeare, played by X-Factor winner Matt Cardle, and Anne Hathaway (Lara Denning) took to the stage. Shakespeare discusses the ending he just wrote for his new play Romeo & Juliet but Anne and the ensemble convince the bard to spare Juliet’s life and change the ending. After insisting he wants to keep the play the way he wrote it through a cover of the Backstreet Boys’ ‘I Want It That Way’ he finally agrees to let Juliet live.

It seems as though, through the rewriting play, Anne is given agency in her marriage

Juliet, played by powerhouse vocalist Gerardine Sacdalan, appears on stage and delivers a fantastic rendition of ‘…Baby One More Time’ by Britney Spears. Anne starts to take control of the script, writing herself in as one of Juliet’s friends (April) alongside her genderfluid best friend May and together they decide they should head to Paris and explore more of life. Throughout the play Anne and Shakespeare appear to have a broken marriage and the pair are conflicted about love and art. It seems as though, through the rewriting play, Anne is given agency in her marriage and through the character of April she experiences life more fully.

 

At a French club and after a cover of Ke$ha’s ‘Blow’, we are introduced to Francois DuBois (Kyle Cox) and his father Lance (Dr Ranj Singh). May’s performance of ‘I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman’ is a heartwarming moment of the show and their storyline as a whole is very touching. Francois and May share romantic moments but in true Shakespearean fashion he gets engaged to Juliet to avoid joining the army and disappointing his father.

 

Lance and Angelique sit at the heart of the musical’s humour, their duet of ‘Teenage Dream’/‘Break Free’ was brilliantly absurd, Ranj and Sandra Marvin should be applauded for their physical comedy skills. Act One ends with Shakespeare deciding there isn’t enough conflict in the play and brings Romeo back from the dead. Jack Danson, playing Romeo, hilariously descends from above singing ‘It’s My Life’ by Bon Jovi and closes out the first act.

The choreography for the show was impressive and the ensemble brought the energy from start to finish. 

After the interval and a complimentary drink in the Spotlight Lounge, the stage manager announced that Jack Danson was unfortunately having vocal problems but Liam Morris was stepping in to cover. Liam Morris was a fantastic Romeo and his performance of ‘Love Me Like You Do’ drew many laughs from the audience. Juliet and the female ensemble members retaliate with ‘Since U Been Gone’ by Kelly Clarkson in an ultimate girl-power number. The choreography for the show was impressive and the ensemble brought the energy from start to finish.

 

I never thought I would see Matt Cardle and Dr Ranj in a boyband together singing ‘Everybody’ by the Backstreet Boys but it made for one of the standout moments of the show. Juliet’s cover of ‘Roar’ was a showcase of powerful vocal talent and Sacdalan proved she is a force to be reckoned with, even over two hours into the show her performance was flawless.

 

As the character’s storylines reached their ends, Anne and Shakespeare finally talked about their issues and got their happy ending. Matt Cardle and Lara Denning had fabulous chemistry and worked well as a comedic duo. ‘I Can’t Stop the Feeling’ was the finale number and the cast encouraged the audience to get on their feet and dance. The atmosphere in the Grand was buzzing and everyone seemed to have a smile on their face.

& Juliet achieves what it wants to, it’s a fun, feel-good show which promises to make you laugh. Whilst some aspects of the storyline fell a little flat for me, the cast did an incredible job in making the show fantastically entertaining. Jam-packed with impressive vocals, spectacular dance numbers and hilarious moments, & Juliet is great for those wanting to see a witty, light-hearted show.

Rating: 4/5 stars

& Juliet runs at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre until 12th October 2024.

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