Review: & Juliet at the Shaftsbury Theatre, London

On Saturday, I spent an absolutely wonderful day in London with some friends from Theatre Twitter (a loose network of people who use the social platform to geek out about all things stagey.) Our two-show day included a visit back to The Rock for one of my all-time favourites, as well as a matinee of & Juliet, a musical based on the music of Max Martin (a songwriter who has written hits for the likes of Britney Spears, Katy Perry, the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC and many others.)

Full disclosure: I don’t like Romeo and Juliet as a play unless it’s played as satire, which vanishingly few companies are willing to do. It is not the greatest love story of all time! It’s a three day relationship between two teenagers who barely know each other and somehow manage to cause six deaths, including their own, with their stupidity. (This is probably also why I don’t like West Side Story even though I think Sondheim was a genius.)

So I had high hopes for a musical that turns this ridiculous play on its head. Did & Juliet live up to expectations or its hype?

What’s it about?

(Please note: review contains plot spoilers)

It’s the opening night of William Shakespeare’s newest play, a tragedy about doomed star-crossed lovers. His wife, Anne Hathaway, has arrived in London to see the play but is less than impressed with the ending. She suggests a rewrite: what if Juliet did not kill herself over a boy she met three days ago? What might she do next?

Locked in a creative and marital battle of wills, Anne and William rewrite the play. Juliet awakes to find Romeo dead and her parents threatening to send her to a convent. Instead of allowing herself to be pushed around, though, Juliet decides to take control of her own destiny. She sets off with her nurse Angelique, non-binary bestie May, and friend April (played by Anne) on a road trip to Paris…

Any content notes?

& Juliet is comes with a suggested age guidance of 6+ (though some sources suggest 12+).

It does contain some swearing, mostly in the song “F***ing Perfect”, as well as some fairly mild sexual references.

There’s also strobe and flashing lights, loud noises, pyrotechnics, and confetti canons.

& Juliet: My Review

& Juliet has so much potential and many great elements. The concept is great. It includes diverse characters and some strong aspects of representation (canonically bisexual Romeo? We love to see it.) It’s glitzy, sparkly, glamorous, and completely over the top. The flashy, continually-changing set is nothing short of spectacular, and Paloma Young’s noughties-cool-with-an-Elizabethan-twist costumes pay homage to the show’s source material and calls to mind Six.

I cannot fault Miriam-Teak Lee as Juliet, a role for which she won the 2020 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical. Lee has a great voice and a charming, energetic stage presence. But though this is ostensibly Juliet’s show, May is its true star. Joe Foster (who I previously saw as Elle’s dog Bruiser in this summer’s Legally Blonde) is ideal in the role, their sweetness affecting and their love story with Francois (played by Billy Nevers) surprisingly touching.

Miriam-Teak Lee with some of the & Juliet company. Photo: Johan Persson.

With all of that in mind, I really wanted to fall in love with this show. Sadly, taken as a whole it fell short of the mark for me.

I’m not ultra snobby about jukebox musicals overall. I think they can be great fun and highly entertaining, as well as a good entry point to musical theatre for people who may not otherwise go and see it. But I’ve also never seen a jukebox musical that truly blew me away. I really feel that & Juliet is let down by the songs, many of which (though great songs in their own right) feel haphazardly strung together and crowbarred into the plot. When the dialogue is so heavy-handed that you can see the next song coming before even the opening bars, there’s a problem. This show is crying out for original music!

Joe Foster as May. Photo: Johan Persson.

I also have a real issue with & Juliet’s ending. The show begins with a message about female empowerment, taking charge of your own life, and not needing a man to be happy… but ends with a traditional, sappy girl-and-boy-live-happily-ever-after cliché. After all that, Juliet ends up back with a man she barely knows who didn’t even treat her very well? No thanks.

Oliver Thompsett plays Shakespeare opposite Cassidy Janson as Anne. These two were among the show’s highlights and offer a far more relateable, entertaining, and satisfying love story than Juliet’s, bickering and falling out and making up as they work together on both their play and their relationship. Their verbal sparring is funny and Anne is the most well-rounded and fully realised character in the show.

“Keep it light, keep it tight, keep it fun, and then we’re done!” Anne advises her husband with regards to the play. (This is an intentional reference to “Keep It Gay” from The Producers, right?) And honestly, this is pretty much what & Juliet does. It’s fun, sure, but I wanted more substance behind the style.

Ultimately I found & Juliet entertaining enough, but fairly forgettable in a kind of “pop-concert-meets-panto” way. With an original score and (ironically) a rewritten ending, it could be so much more. As it stands, take this show for what it is - an excuse to see some talented performers belt out 90s and 00s bangers in pretty costumes - and you’ll probably have a good time.

Where to get tickets

& Juliet is playing until 25th March 2023. Get tickets from the official website or any reputable London theatre vendor.