REVIEW: & JULIET @ MANCHESTER OPERA HOUSE

Jukebox musicals are a blessing and a curse. You have the ones that have set the standard for the genre (Our House, Mamma Mia) and the ones that deserve to be forgotten very quickly... well I won’t start to list those! However, finding an original approach on which to hang a collection of songs has proved elusive to most. The song writing catalogue of Swedish pop maestro Max Martin doesn’t at first hand seem to be the basis of a successful musical. Sure, there are multi-million selling hits for the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Katy Perry and many others. But tying them together in a musical? Mmm, problematic. Not so for writer David West Read. He has hit on the ingenious idea of surmising what might have happened if Romeo Montague  and Juliet Capulet had not killed themselves in a suicide pact at the end of Shakespeare’s literary classic. What if Juliet had decided her own destiny?

The intriguing new musical which has opened at Manchester Opera House prior to a West End run, gives us the bard himself William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway.  His solution for the ending of Romeo & Juliet doesn’t impress his much ignored wife very much, and she has ideas of her own. And so begins the journey where the Bard and the Bored battle it out for supremacy over which direction the story will take for Juliet.  They each take turns with the quill to further the story of Juliet’s story without Romeo. Maybe just as well, at Romeo's wake a number of his old flames come forward to mourn.  He had been putting it about a bit! In order to escape this unwelcome development Juliet takes herself off to Paris for some fun with her best friend, the gender fluid May, and her Nurse.  Gate crashing a rather sumptuous ball, they encounter Francois De Bois (pronounced ‘de boy’) who is immediately taken with Juliet.  But he also has a brief encounter with May, confusing his feelings further.  Meanwhile the Nurse bumps into Francois’ father,  Lance, who is an old flame which she isn’t sure she wants rekindled.  The battle of Mr. and Mrs. Shakepeare’s quill continues until a coupe de theatre which ends Act 1 and literally sets the cat among the pigeons.  Further than that I don’t want to spoiler it for those lucky enough to see this production.

Oliver Tompsett as Shakespeare

Cassidy Janson as Anne Hathaway

It is obvious that producer Max Martin and his cohorts have spent a bob or two on the production. Set (Soutra Gilmour), costumes (Paloma Young), lighting (Howard Hudson), band – none of it can be faulted.  The direction by Luke Shepherd is spot on, bringing out the many moments of comedy (some not too subtle) whilst giving the performers a chance to shine vocally when the script demands one of the 30 songs that get performed during the course of the evening.  

Tim Mahendran as Francois & Miriam Teak-Lee as Juliet

David Bedella as Lance and Melanie La Barrie as Nurse

There are a core of very fine actors,  Oliver Tompsett’s handsome bard William kicking off the evening with the Backstreet Boys’ ‘Larger Than Life’. Jordan Luke Gage as a particularly smarmy Romeo, Peter Kay-esque Tim Mahendran as Francois and double Olivier Award winner David Bedella as Nursie’s suitor Lance all give first rate performances. But the evening truly belongs to the ladies. Cassidy Janson (Anne) shows a fine talent for comedy as well as power vocals, whilst Melanie La Barrie delivers a robust no nonsense Nurse whose voice melts the heart during ‘Fuckin’ Perfect’. Arun-Blair Mangat stands tall among the ladies as May, and his ‘I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman’ rightfully brings an ovation from the mostly young audience.  But the biggest praise must go to a star in the making,  Miriam-Teak Lee as Juliet.  She is beautiful, has charisma in spades and is another performer whose voice lifts the roof off the Opera House. To hear her belt out Britney Spear’s ‘Stronger’ or Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’ is to touch heaven.  The ensemble work their socks off to back these featured turns, showing some mean dance moves by choreographer Jennifer Weber and additional harmonic style.  Lets not forget either the major contribution of the eight-strong band under the direction of Dominic Fallacro who provide the bedrock of the evening and make it almost impossible to sit still in your seat.  The production has a stamp of class throughout, and deserves to join the upper echelons of jukebox musical royalty. 

Arun Blair-Mangat as May

Jordan Luke Gage as Romeo

I feel the biggest problem to be had with the show is it’s title.  & Juliet might well suggest a dip into heavy Shakespearean iambic pentameter. However, the reality is that this is Greatest Show by way of  Upstart Crow.  Its witty, it has got songs you want to sing and dance to and a hit squad cast deliver it all with panache. Given a chance the West End will hear them ROAR.  Please let it be the hit it deserves to be!

 

 Romeo's old flames gather whilst Juliet watches

Miriam Teak-Lee roars

Further details on the show can be found at the OFFICIAL & JULIET WEBSITE