This fun, uplifting jukebox musical, filled with songs written by prolific producer/songwriter Max Martin, asks what would have happened if Shakespeare didn't have Juliet kill herself over a lad she'd met just a few days earlier.
But fear not Bard fans, this isn't an attempt at rewriting Romeo & Juliet. It's simply a joyous look at the iconic character through a more contemporary, feminist lens, and it's played out to the soundtrack of some of the biggest pop hits of the last 25 years.
The premise is that Shakespeare's wife Anne Hathaway has turned up to watch the first performance of Romeo & Juliet, and when her husband describes the ending he's just written, Anne decides a rewrite is in order.
For the rest of the show, Anne and Will find themselves at the heart of the action as they tinker with the lives (deaths too) and loves of the main protagonists, which includes a handful of new characters of Anne's invention, such as Juliet's best friend May, and father and son combo, Lance and François. We as the audience are welcomed along for the ride as they journey out of Verona and into Paris to see what life has to offer outside of feuding families.
On its opening in Norwich, it was cover Harriet Caplan-Dean who led the way as Anne alongside Matt Cardle as Shakespeare. Cardle displayed the soulful vocals that captured the public imagination when he won The X Factor all those years ago, but he also showed excellent stagecraft and comic nous as he portrayed the Great Bard as a self-important windbag. Caplan-Dean was simply superb - sweetness, charm, ferocity, and determination all rolled into one, and combined with some absolutely killer vocals, in particular on the Celine Dion classic That's The Way It Is, it made for a perfect performance.
In the title role, Gerardine Sacdalan arguably was dealt the most favourable hand in terms of the songs. She made the most of it, beautifully belting out bangers such as Britney's ...Baby One More Time and Oops!...I Did It Again, Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone, and Roar from Katy Perry.
Fans of Dr Ranj will be delighted to learn that his musical theatre debut playing the character of Lance was very accomplished. While his silky smooth vocals added a touch of class to his performance, it was his comic acting that was most memorable with his ridiculous French accent and his pursuit of the maid Angeliqué (played by the wonderful Sandra Marvin).
With a keen sense of self-awareness, particularly when Backstreet Boys or Britney hits for example, with their slightly vacuous lyrics, are being strong-armed into the fairly thin narrative, crucially this is a show that doesn't take itself too seriously. Yes, there's an earnest message to take away about having the freedom to make our own choices and live the way we want, but mostly this is just a quirky, glittery pop concert executed superbly by a brilliant group of performers. And it's a show that'll have you smiling from ear-to-ear throughout.
Go get yourself a big dose of pop fever - & Juliet continues at Norwich Theatre Royal until 3 Aug.
Yorumlar