Hull New Theatre – until 28th September 2024
Reviewed by Cath Wright
5*****
What if Juliet didn’t die at the end of Romeo and Juliet? This is what Anne Hathaway (Lara Denning) asks of Shakespeare (Matt Cardle) at the start of & Juliet, cue the reimagining of the play by Anne, with Shakespeare being unable to resist interfering in the process. Cue a fast, frenetic, glitzy, and glorious performance with an incredibly talented cast.
& Juliet is interspersed throughout with Max Martin’s many hits, his music and lyrics often having a new tempo and being delivered in a totally unexpected context. Max Martin produces & Juliet with Luke Sheppard directing. Written by David West Read, this is a funny show, full of wit and wry humour. Jennifer Weber has choregraphed the stunning dance routines and Paloma Young’s costumes are an inspired Elizabethan/80’s mix.
Matt Cardle’s Shakespeare is an utter delight, played with a twinkle and a certain devilishness, yet still producing pathos at times. His singing voice is sublime. He and Anne bounce off one another superbly.
Lara Denning is superb, playing Anne (and April), she bounces through the show with glee and yet we see her tender and emotional side too. Her singing voice is quite simply phenomenal.
Geradine Sacdalan is stunning as Juliet, her singing voice is amazing. She is undoubtedly a talent to watch out for in the future.
Sandra Marvin as Angeliqué has the most perfect comic timing, and has a wonderful singing voice. The interactions with Lance (Ranj Singh) are superb. Ranj Singh is a revelation as Lance, he absolutely owned the part.
Jordan Broatch (May), Kyle Cox (François) and Jack Danson (Romeo) are incredibly talented and once again have the most wonderful voices.
The band, Musical Director Marcus Carter-Adams are excellent, for a small band they produced an amazing sound.
& Juliet is a simply phenomenal show, a fabulous night out at the theatre. Had the lights not gone up the audience would have been happy to give the cast a much longer standing ovation last night. Fun, fabulous, frivolous, and frenetic I can totally recommend & Juliet, I now have a new favourite musical!