Most of us have seen various adaptations of one of the most well-known tragedies of all time, ‘Romeo and Juliet’. However, what if we told you there could be a life after Romeo, where Juliet goes on into the world to live her wildest dreams? With tunes from Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, ‘The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet’ quickly becomes ‘& Juliet’, with an uplifting jukebox musical completely rewriting the original story.
‘& Juliet’ is “a play within a play” kind of musical, where the fourth wall is pretty much nonexistent, where William Shakespeare himself involves his wife Anne Hathaway (yes, that was her real name) in his playwriting. In this version, Juliet survives, going off to Paris to find herself with her two best friends.
‘& Juliet’ is gracing the Bristol Hippodrome, Wed 15 Jan – Sat 25 Jan 2025, bringing Shakespeare like never before.
The musical also features a stellar cast, with medic and TV presenter Dr Ranj Singh making his musical theatre debut as Lance. He is joined by Matt Cardle as Shakespeare, Gerardine Sacdalan as Juliet, Lara Denning as Anne, Sandra Marvin as Angelique, Jack Danson as Romeo, Kyle Cox as Francois and Jordan Broatch as May.
Dr Ranj Singh said: “I am absolutely overjoyed to be making my musical theatre debut in & Juliet, a show I’ve been a fan of since it first opened. I know it’s a bit of a change from my usual work, but not many people will know how hard I’ve been working behind the scenes to make this happen, and it’s an absolute dream come true. I can’t wait to work with the incredible Luke Sheppard and the entire creative team and have the time of my life this year, showing the UK what I’m made of alongside an exceptionally talented and diverse cast. Bring it on!”
What is more, Secret Bristol got the chance to go see it for ourselves, answering all the ‘what ifs’ one could have ever wondered. From too easy to sing along to pop tunes to witty humour from David West Read, who also wrote ‘Shitts Creek’, by the way, ‘& Juliet’ is one of the best nights out we’ve had in a while.
Expect to hear Baby One More Time by Britney Spears, Katy Perry’s Roar and chart-toppers like Since U Been Gone, It’s My Life, I Want It That Way, and Can’t Stop the Feeling!, all from one of the best music producers of all time, Max Martin.
Overall, ‘& Juliet’ makes audiences feel what they never knew they needed, invoking that wholesome childlike wonder we all forget at times while getting lost in the mundane dance of life.
To go see ‘& Juliet’ while it’s in town, you can book your tickets on the ATG tickets website.