CentralDramaMusicalReview

& Juliet – Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton

Reviewer: James Garrington

Book: David West Read

Music and Lyrics: Max Martin and Friends

Director: Luke Sheppard

There’s a party going on, and it’s going on this week at Wolverhampton Grand as &Juliet storms into town.Trh

It’s not just any party either – this one is based around the songs of Max Martin, and full of pop ballads from the likes of Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and the Backstreet Boys. Include them in a show like this, give them a period tweak, and what you have is a powerhouse of a score with numbers that, despite it being a jukebox musical, always seem appropriate to the storyline (albeit sometimes in a slightly tongue-in-cheek way).

England’s finest playwright (as he’d be the first to tell you) is feeling pleased with himself. He’s written another play, and this time it’s going to be the biggest tragedy of them all – Romeo & Juliet. But his wife Anne is not happy about it – she’s come to London to see what he’s been up to and persuades him to let her change the ending… instead of killing herself, what if Juliet survives? Might we get a happy ending, where she takes control of her own story, or has Will Shakespeare still got ideas to throw some spanners into the works?

Written by David West Read of Schitt’s Creek fame, this is far from a traditional Shakespeare play. In fact it frequently feels a bit like you’re watching a panto, though with a lot more plot and cleverer comedy than your average panto tends to have. Deep and meaningful it certainly isn’t, as Anne and Will argue over who’s taking charge of Juliet’s life until she decides to take control for herself. This is all taking place against a backdrop of Jennifer Weber’s high-energy choreography with toe-tapping power ballads belted out by a superb cast.

With a light, panto-esque show like this few of the characterisations have any great depth but that’s not overly important – it’s about comedy and music, not high drama. Front and centre of the cast is Gerardine Sacdalan as Juliet and she gives us a feisty character, delivering the pop classics with an excellent voice and good comic timing. Matt Cardle (Shakespeare) doesn’t get much to sing but he’s in as good a voice as always, sparring with an excellent Lara Denning (Anne) who gets the tenderest moments to deliver, along with a great mix of pulled-back and powerhouse vocals. Kyle Cox is a nicely shy and confused François, with Jordan Broatch upbeat and equally confused as Juliet’s best friend, May, both showing good comedy and vocal skills.

On press night Jack Danson as Romeo only managed to give us a brief view of what he can do before the interval, belting out one massive number as he makes his big entrance, before becoming indisposed. So we get to see Liam Morris take over the role, and he gives us some equally good vocals and a character that’s superficially strong and determined while actually being totally wet.

Star comedy turns of the night are Sandra Marvin as Juliet’s nurse Angelique and Ranj Singh (TV’s Dr Ranj) as Lance. Singh is well known from his many TV appearances, but this is his musical theatre debut and he’s taken to the genre as though born to it with good comedy skills and a competent vocal delivery – there’s a future in panto for him too, if he wants it. He looks completely at home alongside Marvin with all her experience, and between them, they give us some real highlights, both comically and vocally. All of this takes place on a set designed by Soutra Gilmour which moves seamlessly from scene to scene, with Howard Hudson’s lighting and Andrzej Goulding’s video all being absolutely integral to the action.

If you’re up for something that’ll put a smile on your face, with ticker-tape, pyrotechnics and belting ballads, then this is definitely one you’ll want to see. It’s lively, it’s colourful and it’s great fun.

Runs until 12 October 2024 and on tour

The Reviews Hub Score

Lively, colourful and great fun

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The Reviews Hub - Central

The Central team is under the editorship of Selwyn Knight. The Reviews Hub was set up in 2007. Our mission is to provide the most in-depth, nationwide arts coverage online.

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One Comment

  1. I went to see and Juliet last night 8th September and unbeknownst to us we had the understudy Romeo and Juliet. Let me tell you they were both absolutely fantastic. A deserved choice as the actual characters… brilliant both of them..

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