&Juliet first graced the stage back in 2019 at the Manchester Opera House, significantly altering the the ending of the classic tale of Romeo and Juliet. &Juliet flips the script on its tragic ending, where Juliet is given a second chance at life, allowing her to choose her own fate and defy her original tragedy. As she embarks on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment, she is met with a further twist to her story, thanks to William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway.
We knew very little about &Juliet prior to seeing the show other than hearing excellent reviews from friends. Neither of us had studied Romeo and Juliet in school, so we’re quite apprehensive that we’d struggle to interpret the story. We wouldn’t say we’re massive Shakespeare fans either, so went into the production quite sceptical but with open minds.
The plot consisted of two stories running in parallel, which was cleverly intertwined for the two stories to meet together. We loved both concurrent plots which kept the show fast paced and kept our eyes glued to stage, with a good mix of rotating between each story. The story was easy to follow, with the initial story of Romeo and Juliet ingeniously explained at the beginning of the story so everyone had a basic understanding of the original plot. The plot itself is light hearted and is not to be taken too seriously, but all round is a brilliant and enjoyable watch.
The cast consisted of 8 principals and 10 ensemble members, who all were outstanding at bringing this vibrant production to life. Geradine Sacdalan playing Juliet was a standout performance, a triple threat of singing, dancing and acting. We also particularly loved Lara Denning’s performance of Anne, with an emotional and powerful performance of “That’s The Way It Is”. There were no sub-par performances within this talented cast, all the cast were exceptional at portraying their characters and gave a wonderful performance. This production had multiple high energy dance numbers, which were well choreographed and performed.
&Juliet was packed with 30 chart topper pop songs from a range of artists including Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry and Ellie Goulding. All songs had been adapted and jazzed up to fit in well with the story. Generally we’ve not been fans in the past of musicals integrating pop songs as they often feel shoe horned in to the story, however &Juliet flawlessly weaves the songs into the plot. All songs fitted in well with the story and no song felt out of place. If we hadn’t heard the songs outside the show, we would’ve thought they were all originally written for the story. The orchestrations were well played by the 5 band members, who were behind the stage for this performance.
The stage was a visual spectacle, brought to life through a great mix of fixed and additional moveable set pieces as well as a large digital screen and vibrant lighting. This musical is very fast paced and the set is ever evolving to keep up with the storyline. &Juliet is full of lots of eye catching and picturesque set pieces, we particularly loved the renaissance ball and the finale balcony scene. The set pieces were aesthetically pleasing, fitted with the story well, and were high quality. The set in general felt high budget, and something we’d expect to see in a West End production. There was also great use of pyrotechnics and effects throughout the show. We loved the use of flight in this production, which was well utilized throughout with grand entrances from the principal cast. The lighting was outstanding, bringing the show to the next level.
We had a fabulous night out seeing &Juliet, which far exceeded our expectations. This show had something for everyone, full of fun and a great watch for all ages. This show is our favourite production we’ve seen this year, and would highly recommend seeing it.
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