My first ever show on the West End!!
& Juliet attempts to rewrite the classic story of Romeo & Juliet, this time asking what it would be like if Juliet never died. This is done through the use of pop songs, ranging from the 90s to the 2000s. Like most jukebox musicals, it’s a feel-good show with high energy. However, like most jukebox musicals it's also unoriginal as it relies on recycled material to tell an entirely new story.
The plot attempts to take Shakespeare’s story from a feminist perspective. The creative team assumes that Shakespeare is not already a feminist himself. I believe that Shakespeare created many strong female characters that live through his work. Juliet was always a feminist character. In the original story, she stands up to her disapproving family and fights for her and Romeo’s love. Juliet's death was not in vain. Additionally, it becomes even clearer that Shakespeare was a feminist writer when he wrote the character Lady Macbeth of the infamous Macbeth. Similarly to Juliet, Lady Macbeth kills herself. But Lady Macbeth does this to escape her harsh reality of the abusive men in her life and the role she is forced to take on as a wife and mother. Needless to say, Shakespeare’s work is inherently feminist. That being said, this is not exactly a new spin on the original production. Shakespeare was ahead of his time when it came to feminism.
The idea of Juliet’s death never occurring is certainly an interesting one, but & Juliet does a poor job of executing this. For starters, Juliet does not have any passion driving her. Instead, she is caught up on the men in her life (I do not believe the musical even passes the Bechdel test). For starters, after meeting Francois, she is focused on his potential as a new love interest to her. And the majority of Act 2 is concerned with Romeo. By the end of the show Juliet ultimately decides to give Romeo another chance after he lied to her and had multiple affairs. What exactly is feminist about that?
To add to this, the show within the show is supposed to partially be written by Shakespeare's wife, Anne. I find it incredibly ironic that in actuality, & Juliet was created by men. The book was written by David West Read, the songs were compiled by Max Martin, the re-orchestrations were done by Bill Sherman, and the show was directed by Luke Sheppard. It’s no surprise that the feminist representation is poor when few women were a part of the creative team.
On the other hand, some of the musical's strong suits were costume design, lighting, and choreography. The costume design was fitting for an energetic and upbeat musical as it was colorful. I also liked how the costumes were a combination of traditional renaissance era clothing with a modern flair. It was interesting to me that May wore gender neutral costumes the whole time as the character is non-binary. It was a nice detail to include.
The lighting design complimented the colors of costumes well, but the set was forgettable and did not add much to the musical. It seemed to just be there to take up space and make the show seem more exciting.
Moreover, I appreciated the queer and transgender/non-binary representation, which will probably resonate with plenty of audience members. Representation is always needed in professional theatre.
The actors were phenomenal and they did their best with the material they were given. It was cool that they had the actors interact with the audience a few minutes before curtain. I must also commend Zara MacIntosh for her amazing portrayal of Juliet. She kept the audience engaged and is a talented singer, actress, and dancer.
All in all, the musical is your average Jukebox musical. I almost felt as if it was directed toward younger audiences. I imagine young children would find a lot of power in this coming of age story. I understand what the writers were trying to do, highlight feminism and the importance of equality. But this message got lost after trashing Shakespeare's reputation, both as a writer and as a person. The show makes Shakespeare out to be arrogant and unlikable. I will be interested to compare this version to the one coming to Broadway in the upcoming months.
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