15 – 25 January
Just imagine the sales pitch required to get this show produced.
Well, it’s a musical based on the premise that Juliet didn’t die when Romeo did. And Anne Hathaway persuades William Shakespeare that she should re-write it. It is filled with juke box pop tunes made famous by the likes of Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Back Street Boys. A heavy LGBTQ element is a must. It has to be cast with a company comprising a variety of body shapes. Oh, and finally, costumes are a combination of mock Elizabethan doublet and hose worn with big white trainers and bobble socks.
Could such a show get the financial backing and, even if it did, would it be successful?
Created by David West Read, the Emmy-winning writer from Schitt’s Creek, the musical begins as Anne (Lara Denning) poses her playwright husband the question: ‘What if Juliet didn’t end it all over a boy?’
What follows is a gloriously loud, bubble gum kitsch musical featuring numerous catchy numbers from songwriter and producer Max Martin. One of the most successful factors is the inclusion of frequent references to the original play, with characters, quotations and a kind of reverence that allows a liberal amount of mickey taking.
Juliet is played by the pocket rocket Geradine Sacdalan who takes her part into orbit. Her singing and acting are perfectly pitched. Great things await her.
Jay McGuinness, a former winner of Strictly, provides an ongoing narrative by Shakespeare, but he is frequently upstaged by his wife, played by Denning.
There is humour in abundance, notably from Lee Latchford-Evans as Lance Dubois, played with a hilariously over the top French accent when the troupe pitch up in The Renaissance Ball in Paris (don’t ask!). Kyle Cox as his shy son introduces a version of a Shakespearean love triangle when he falls in love not only with Juliet but her gay friend, May (Jordan Broatch).
Stealing every scene in which she appears is the indomitable Sandra Marvin, neatly cast as the Nurse, with her superb comic timing and hugely enthusiastic dancing. Her singing is a delight, and the seduction scene with Lance had the audience screaming.
Just when you wonder where the show will go next, Romeo, the funny bad boy you love to hate (Jack Danson) returns from the dead, determined to be reunited with Juliet.
The show triumphs in the exuberant staging, tight musical production and technicolour set. This is definitely a show for today, with a laudably rich diversity, featuring explicit referencing to sexual equality, the right to be different and the overall message captured in the song I Want It That Way. The supporting chorus, the players, are as good as they come.
Press night’s audience deeply connected with the storyline and messaging throughout. And when they reluctantly left the theatre you could say that they parted with such sweet sorrow. Although the pitch would have been a difficult one to make, everyone associated with this feel-good, empowering show made it entirely worthwhile.
★★★★☆ Bryan J Mason, 16 January 2025
Photo credit: Matt Crockett
