New Wimbledon Theatre, London – until 1 February 2025
Reviewed by Emily Smith
5*****
& Juliet is the untold story of what would have happened if Juliet had survived and thrived (!), instead of taking her own life after she found Romeo dead. The rewriting of this classic story is told through two narrators, Shakespeare (Jay McGuiness) and Anne (Lara Denning), who are jointly writing the new version of events, while quarrelling throughout and throwing in some twists and turns.
& Juliet is packed full of well-known, catchy pop songs, ranging from boyband classics like I Want It That Way to pop rock power ballads such as Since U Been Gone and Roar. These have all been carefully interwoven around the narrative such that there’s almost constantly someone breaking into song in each scene and they all work seamlessly. I challenge anyone to sit still and not bop along to this show – by the end of the night the whole audience were waving their arms from side to side, or on their feet dancing!
The set (Soutra Gilmour), lighting (Howard Hudson) and sound (Gareth Owen) design were all brilliant for this touring production and were on-par with the previous West End versions. No glitz and glam has been lost by bringing this production to local theatres; there were still bright flashing lights, a great sound system and various set pieces such as chandeliers descending from the ceiling!
Whilst the music and staging are brilliant, it is the stand-out cast that bring this show to life, alongside the live band. Gerardine Sacdalan was born to play Juliet! She is an absolute force, delivering flawless vocals alongside energetic choreography with a vibrance that was truly mesmerising. She looked like she was living her best life and I can’t sing her praises enough!
Lara Denning (Anne) was another standout performance, providing powerhouse vocals and incredible acting skills with perfect comedic timing. She had the audience captivated with her rendition of That’s The Way It Is and truly captured the emotion of the song. Jordan Broatch (May) also delivered beautiful vocals, especially during I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman.
Liam Morris stepped in to cover the role of Romeo at this press evening and did a great job. While his vocals were not as outstanding as his peers, he made up for that with his great comedic timing, pulling off Romeo’s inflated ego a little too well!
Ranj Singh, better known as TV’s Dr Ranj, makes his musical theatre tour debut in & Juliet as Lance, and I was pleasantly surprised at his vocal skills! That being said, his French accent (if you can call it that) could do with a little more workshopping. Jay McGuiness delivered an emotional yet comedic performance as Shakespeare, though for me he was not the strongest vocalist of the evening. Kyle Cox (François, aka Frankie The Boy) and Sandra Marvin (Angeliqué) also delivered great vocals and comedic performances, alongside the entire ensemble who helped bring the show to life.
& Juliet is a feel-good show that’s full of catchy well-known songs, delivered by an incredibly talented cast that are truly at the top of their game. & Juliet is absolutely worth a trip to the theatre – you won’t be disappointed!