& so... It's fair to say we feel rather proprietorial about & Juliet as we caught the show during its world premiere season prior to its move to the West End (and Broadway, and Australia etc. etc.) So it seems rather fitting we return to the scene of that very first visit - Manchester's magnificent Opera House - to watch the opening date of the very first UK Tour.
The premise of the show is a fairly simple one. Mrs. Shakespeare, Anne Hathaway (there'll never be another!), travels down from Stratford to London to see what her husband Will has been writing. He presents her with the plot of Romeo & Juliet, with the lovers tragically killing themselves at the denouement. Anne thinks Juliet deserves more of a future, and sets about re-writing the ending much to Will's annoyance. In this battle of Will(s) Juliet finds herself alive and heads to Paris with her nurse Angelique, best transgender friend May and fun loving April, a way Anne Hathaway has of writing herself into the action. There, in the party scene of Paris, Juliet meets Francois du Bois and somehow becomes romantically involved, but of course its not as simple as that. With Will and Anne battling for control of the writers quill, the journey takes many twists and turns before there is a happy ending.
The real calling card of this show though are the songs of Max Martin and his many collaberators. Max's name might not be on the tip of everyone's tongue but his songs certainly are. Think Britney's 'Kiss Me Baby One More Time', Jessie J's 'Domino' , Kelly Clarkson's 'Since U Been Gone', The Backstreet's Boys' 'Larger Than Life' and Katy Perry's immortal 'Roar' to name just a few in the show. 30 wall to wall hits, an A - Z of pop from the 1990s onwards. Its infectious, by the time you get to leave the theatre you are on a musical high like no other.
Having been witness to the brilliant original cast, we were guilty of being a little wary of the incoming class of 2024, but we need not have been. The entire ensemble ooze quality and talent. At the performance we attended the 'alternate Juliet' was on show. Psalms-Nissi Myers-Reid dropkicked every note and comedy line, giving us a memorable Juliet to lead the mighty production. Sandra Marvin was equally magnificient as outspoken Angelique,who finds her former lover Lance in Paris. Lance is played by television doctor Ranj Singh, and guess what? He pulls off the singing and acting with style. So allay fears he is not up to job, he's the real deal. Jordan Broatch gives us a slightly understated May perhaps to match Kyle Cox's laid back Francois, polished performances but a bit more depth of characterisation might be required here, we never quite get the attraction they both have for each other. Jack Danson's Romeo is a foppish joy as he struggles to come to terms with how Juliet can have moved on without him. Matt Cardle's Shakespeare takes centre stage from the off, we know he can belt out a tune but his delivery of the comedy is equally on point, but perhaps the evening really belongs to Lara Denning's Anne Hathaway. By turns hugely funny, and then she can wring a tear out of your eye with her longing for her husbands attention. A star performance at the heart of a supernova of a show.
This year long UK tour is bound to bring this cult show a mountain of new fans. We are already planning where we can see it again. If you need a lift, you need to see this show. Its the only jukebox musical that equals the joy of Mamma Mia! Make sure you catch this tour, because in the words of Pink it's "Fuckin' Perfect".
Rob & Ian
Details of the UK tour can be found at the OFFICIAL & JULIET WEBSITE
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