My last West End trip of the year and what a way to round it off. My friend Jo and I both turned 40 in 2019 and we decided we had to have a theatre night to celebrate. And then &Juliet was announced as a production considering what would happen if Juliet didn’t die with Romeo, all set to Max Martin songs, many of which were part of our university years, and it felt as if it were fate. We had to see it. And it is such a good feeling when something you really want to be brilliant turns out to be even better than you wished for.
First of all there is the quality of the songs. All so familiar, all so good, all integrated into a story and given a fresh feel. Larger Than Life, Baby One More Time, I Want It That Way, Stronger, Oops I Did It Again, Everybody… and loads more. It was nostalgic in the best way, familiar songs but given new meaning and an up to date interpretation.
The story was inspired and original and hopeful. Full of feminist messages and acceptance of people for who they are, it gladdened my cynical heart. One of the creatives here, David West Read, is also a writer and producer on the glorious Schitt’s Creek and this shares that programme’s warm and inclusive depictions of relationships. (If you haven’t watched Schitt’s Creek, get thee to Netflix. It is such a fabulous show.) Juliet’s friend May is gender fluid, played perfectly by Arun Blair-Mangat. The character of Francois (Tim Mahendran) is trying to figure out why he is never attracted to the girls his father, Lance (David Bedella), tries to set him up with. Juliet herself (played by Miriam-Teak Lee in an absolutely towering performance) is trying to find her way in the world without repeating past mistakes.
Throughout Juliet’s adventures, Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway compete to tell her story whilst dealing with their own relationship woes. Cassidy Janson was stunning as Anne, and her rendition of That’s The Way It Is was incredible. We got the understudy Shakespeare but I have no complaints at all about Ivan De Freitas taking on the role. He was great.
It is rare that I want to name so many of the cast in one of my rambles. It is an indication of just how fabulous this group is. And I haven’t mentioned Melanie La Barrie as the nurse yet. Or Jordan Luke Gage as Romeo. Apologies to those I haven’t named. Everyone was brilliant.
I am running out of superlatives. The costumes were brilliant. The staging was brilliant. The story was brilliant. It was all brilliant.
I have a feeling three songs in particular are going to stay with me. Firstly, May and Francois singing Whataya Want From Me: the frustration, passion and yearning of their relationship erupting in a combative way. Then there was the boyband-esque performance of Everybody by May, Francois, Lance, Romeo and Shakespeare. As someone who went to her fair share of boy band concerts in the 90s, I was definitely transported back to those scream-filled days. And lastly, and the absolute peak of the evening, there was Juliet singing Roar.
Miriam-Teak Lee deserves awards for everything she does in this production. But Roar is something else. I almost can’t find the words to describe its power. Anthemic and empowering and delivered with the most awesome voice and perfect choreography. What a star.
I am writing this as it approaches midnight and I suspect that tomorrow I will want to add more. Maybe I will. As it is, my immediate reaction, as you can probably tell, is that I want to go and see it again and soon.
Clare's theatre ramblings 