& Juliet – Shaftesbury Theatre

Julius D’Silva and Keala Settle in & Juliet at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London. Picture: Johan Persson

& Juliet continues at the Shaftesbury Theatre, London, booking until 24 September 2022.

Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

& Juliet opened in London’s Shaftesbury Theatre in 2019, and its exuberant bubblegum brilliance immediately made fans of even the most sceptical and joyless of theatregoers, myself very much included. Whether or not you have chosen to have Max Martin’s music soundtrack the last 30 years of your life, Max Martin’s music has soundtracked the last 30 years of your life. These songs have been performed by the biggest names in entertainment and are simply inescapable. When they start blasting out at you in this Shakespearean jukebox musical, you have a damn good time. Not only that, but you get to see the tragedy of Romeo & Juliet rewritten and played out before your eyes, with a beautiful empowering message to boot. This show has been a deserving hit.

Many of the original cast are still with the production, and it’s easy to see why given how much fun they appear to be having. Every song is an over-the-top production number, and in those moments when lights, staging and confetti cohere into a quasi-religious pop experience, Miriam-Teak Lee (starring in the title role) looks absolutely at home. It is as if God has decided her natural state is being spot-lit and cheered on by a crowd of adoring fans. A true pleasure to see such a star shining.

Anne Hathaway and her husband – noted playwright William Shakespeare – are played by the comic dream team of Cassidy Janson and Oliver Tompsett, both of whom exude such charm they could sing the entire score alone onstage with none of the staging and choreography yet still keep the audience enraptured for hours. Special shout-out to Janson for her beautiful rendition of Celine Dion’s ‘That’s The Way It Is’, and a second special shout-out to Tompsett for consistently creating brilliant comic business, even when in the background, even when barely onstage. For this show there can never be enough special shout-outs.

Another original cast member still turning in sterling work is Tim Mahendran, who plays the shy but loveable Francois. He imbues his story of self-discovery with humour and heart, and is aided by a fantastic Alex Thomas-Smith as his love interest, May. Thomas-Smith replaced Arun Blair-Mangat as May in July last year, and they have very much made the part their own. From gloriously hysterical screeching as Juliet’s best friend to sombre moments of heartbreak, it is a superb performance. In their hands, I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman takes on whole worlds of new meaning and power.

But of course, tonight is all about the exciting brand new additions to the cast. David Bedella won an Olivier Award for his portrayal of May’s overbearing (and overbearingly French) father Lance in the original company. Big shoes to fill, but Julius D’Silva is more than up to the challenge. Lance’s story sees him fall back in love with an old flame – Juliet’s Nurse, now played by Keala Settle. During their big love duet – an excellently crafted mash-up of ‘Teenage Dream’ and ‘Break Free’ – they pull out all the comedy stops, as well as letting their stellar voices rip.

Given Settle sang one of the most successful film musical numbers in recent memory – ‘This Is Me’ from The Greatest Showman – the whole audience is expecting her voice to be incredible, but she really goes above and beyond in technical vocal acrobatics. D’Silva is no slouch either, more than keeping up with her both musically and in abject silliness. Of course, he also gets to take part in the “Debois Band” cover of The Backstreet Boys’ ‘Everybody’ – three minutes of hilarious pop perfection. If & Juliet was that set piece alone it would be worth the cost of admission.

“I’m just a sexy young man with a tight body and lots of feelings” – the Romeo of this show is admirably self-aware at times. He is also – in the words of Anne Hathaway – a “douche”. As Juliet gets to know the young man more fully over the course of the show (remember, Shakespeare’s original love story happened over just four days), she becomes sensible of his abundant faults too. However, this doesn’t stop Romeo – in the hands of new cast member Tom Francis – having no small amount of indefinable charm about him. His back-from-the-dead entrance at the end of Act I not only provides a major plot twist but is an incredible piece of stagecraft, perfectly sound tracked by Bon Jovi’s ‘It’s My Life’. Francis shows off impressive rock ‘n’ roll vocal talent and provides some of the biggest laughs of the night as a himbo with surprisingly little upper body strength. A confident and barnstorming debut in this role.

Every part of & Juliet is crafted to overwhelm the senses. Paloma Young’s costumes take the best of Elizabethan and modern fashion and smashes it together in a neon explosion. The sets and lighting (designed by Soutra Gilmour and Howard Hudson) evoke a run-down backstage theatre vibe but switch in an instant to the most stunning pop concert you’ve ever seen (all directed by Luke Sheppard). Even the sound system is perfectly balanced – delivering crystal clear vocals perched atop thick, saturated, bass-heavy pop power.

Do you have some intellectual hot takes on the relative artistic merits of jukebox musicals and the lack of harmonic complexity in modern pop music? Good for you, now try having them with power-pop beats rattling your ribcage and Miriam-Teak Lee ascending to the heavens in showers of confetti like a bubblegum goddess. Such a task surely is beyond any mortal: & Juliet is simply irresistible. It will have you enjoying yourself whether you want to or not, and with these fine additions to its company, long will it continue to dazzle in London’s lucky West End.

Ian Bowkett