Shakespeare gets a feminist makeover in this retelling of the classic tragedy turned comedy. Audiences in Blackpool this week explore what would have happened if Juliet hadn’t killed herself upon discovering the dead Romeo. It turns out she could live without him!
On the back of West End and Broadway success, & Juliet continues its UK tour at Blackpool Opera House this week.
The show opens with a jukebox on stage, clearly owning its identity as a jukebox musical, with a score made from ’90s and ’00s anthems from icons such as Britney Spears, the Back Street Boys, Pink and Katie Perry. The songs, all written by Max Martin, have been recreated for this musical theatre retelling.
I am not usually a fan of jukebox musicals, as it can be difficult to arrange songs that weren’t originally intended to be part of the same narrative into a coherent story, but the creative arrangements here bring a new depth of meaning to the existing lyrics. This is demonstrated at the beginning of the show with Juliet’s sorrowful ballad at the loss of Romeo telling us ‘my loneliness is killing me’ using Britney’s ‘Hit Me Baby One More Time’ with a slower, melancholy tone. It also allows for the audience to be in on the joke, as the well-known lines to songs are also used as punchlines throughout the dialogue.
The set utilises neon lighting, illuminated props and projections and the brightly-coloured costumes cleverly mix doublets and cut-off denim jackets with corsets and Converse.
The story is brought to life in the true Shakespearean style of a play within a play. We are introduced to Shakespeare and his wife (the original Anne Hathaway) as he is finishing writing the story of Romeo & Juliet. Anne does not like the ending and suggests the story may be better if Juliet decides to live. They then take it in turns to re-write the story and even write themselves in as characters along the way. & Juliet explores themes of gender identity, citing Shakespeare’s history on the topic with cross-dressing characters and male actors originally portraying the female roles.
The fusion of historical and modern is seen throughout, not only from the score and cultural references (yas qween!), but also from the scenery, costumes and commercial choreography. The set utilises neon lighting, illuminated props and projections and the brightly-coloured costumes cleverly mix doublets and cut-off denim jackets with corsets and Converse. The complex choreography looks like it came straight out of a music video, adding to the pop concert aesthetic of the show.
Geraldine Scadalan gives an outstanding performance as Juliet, showing her range from singing powerful ballads to leading the choreography in the pop number ‘Roar’. Shakespeare is played by Matt Cardle who showcases the X-factor winning vocals we would expect, alongside demonstrating his talent for comedic acting. A special mention must go out to Blackpool’s brilliant Lara Denning in her role as Anne Hathaway, bringing the feisty character to life with perfect comic timing and an excellent singing voice.
This show is also the musical theatre debut for Ranj Singh, who we may be more familiar with as Dr Ranj from This Morning or his more recent turn on Strictly Come Dancing. This show gives him the chance to build on the moves he learnt on Strictly and show off his previously hidden singing talents. He takes on the challenge of this character part very well, complete with outrageous French accent!
The cast are supported by an extremely strong ensemble who provide perfect harmonies and flawlessly executed dance numbers. A triumph of an opening night with a standing ovation and the audience dancing in the aisles. A must for fans of Six or similar modern musicals.
If you don’t want parting to be such sweet sorrow, you can catch &Juliet until the end of the week.
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