Wherefore art thou Romeo? You’ll find out. He’s in there, as is William Shakespeare, wife Anne Hathaway and lovely Juliet in this delightful and uplifting musical. MKFM’s Tom Johnston investigated.
There are several reasons why I was looking forward to seeing this show: the title is strange (awkward even) yet interesting, it’s an award-winning production, it contains great music from a top songwriter, and it was created by the scriptwriter of one of my favourite TV shows ‘Schitt’s Creek’.
Lots to look forward to then and the show, at MK’s theatre for two weeks, did not disappoint.
As fun nights go, this is right up there with the best of them. The hilarious script is full of jokes and funny lines as you would expect from a stellar writer like David West Read. And it’s not called a musical for nothing – the show is packed full of chart-topping smash hits, penned by expert tune maker Max Martin.
You will know most, if not all the hits – Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time’, Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’, Ariana Grande’s ‘Problem’, and Backstreet Boys’ ‘Everybody’ are among them – and although some of the plot appears to suit the musical numbers, the songs are so good that you can forgive that. This is night out of fun, after all.
In this story we are asked to consider what would have happened to Juliet if she hadn’t died in Will Shakespeare’s most famous love story of all. And that’s where it all begins. There are some lovely performances by The Wanted’s Jay McGuiness (Shakespeare), Steps’ Lee Latchford-Evans (Lance) and the wonderful Gerardine Sacdalan as Juliet.
The story brings in a succession of great characters: Anne, nurse Angelique, Francois and dad Lance and a non-binary May. And then Romeo makes an appearance – he’s a bit of a womaniser.
So, look forward to great acting, great singing and great fun. Plus thought-provoking topics such as homosexuality, loneliness, relationships and empowerment. The night really belongs to the music though, and I reckon you’ll leave the theatre humming a succession of pop classics.
& Juliet is at Milton Keynes Theatre until Saturday 12th April.
www.atgtickets.com/miltonkeynes.
