& Juliet – Theatre Royal, Norwich

Music/Lyrics: Max Martin
Book: David West Read
Director: Luke Sheppard

Debuting in the West End in 2019 and quickly becoming a fan favourite, & Juliet is written by David West Read of Schitt’s Creek fame with music from songwriting genius Max Martin. The show brings us the story of what happens when Juliet doesn’t end it all over a boy. Told as an artistic argument between Shakespeare himself and his wife Anne Hathaway, the story thrives on the unexpected. What should be a jukebox musical of pop classics instead creates a thought-provoking show which considers gender, feminism, sexuality, and acceptance, all while bringing us euphoric levels of pop delirium.

There is not a weak link in this cast, with each of them bringing an energy and passion to their performance. Matt Cardle’s Shakespeare really comes into his own when the playwright takes back his quill, and is especially fun to watch whenever he’s doing his own thing in the back of a scene. Harriet Caplan-Dean as Shakespeare’s wife Anne Hathaway is outstanding in the role, bringing a lightness and an energy to much of act 1 and in act 2 bringing a depth, and vocal range which was entirely unexpected and brought the show to a new level.

Gerardine Sacdalan as Juliet is, simply, exceptional. She gives the character fun, humour, and relatable emotion but its almost easy for all of that to be overshadowed when she sings. Her vocal range, and the sincerity of her performance, is outstanding. Roar will be a long-time musical highlight for many in attendance.

The sheer number of songs crammed into this jukebox musical should have made it cumbersome, but instead keeps the audience looking forward to what might come next. The boyband rendition of The Backstreet Boys’ Everybody is such a perfect choice that it was a moment of pure joy, while the ending of It’s Gonna Be Me was such an expected delight that several in the audience missed the next few lines for laughing. That’s not to say that there aren’t a few heartfelt numbers in among the Bops, with Sandra Marvin’s Angelique bringing a tear to the eye of many with F*cking Perfect. Many of the choices, upon scanning the song list feel as though they’d never work in this show and yet seamlessly, they do.

Given the cornucopia of pop being brought to the stage, the choreography (Jennifer Weber), sets (Soutra Gilmour), lighting (Howard Hudson), and costume (Paloma Young) all, by necessity, must bring it for a show like this to work. They do, and then some. The ensemble is sharp and executes every move in an homage to a huge range of classic tracks while in front of wonderfully vibrant sets and colourful lighting. All this, in costumes which are a creative mix of Tudor and hip hop which, much like the show, seem like they shouldn’t work but absolutely do.

This show is not bringing anything new to the musical genre, and it has absolutely no intention of trying. This it is a show which knows exactly what it’s about, and that is creating a glorious queer-joy pop concert which will light up the day of anyone fortunate enough to see it.

Runs Until: 03 August 2024