Theatre Review: & Juliet at MK Theatre

Photo by Matt Crockett

Summary

Rating: ★★★★★
Running Dates: Monday 31st March - Saturday 12th April
Where to see it: MK Theatre
Duration: 2 hr 30 min (incl. interval)
Keywords: Jukebox Musical, Comedy, LGBTQIA+

Review

The show will be perfect for fans of pop music. The music is all from the legendary music mogul Max Martin, who essentially created every banger of the 00s.

This was the second time for me seeing the amazing jukebox musical, & Juliet. The first was my choice of a Broadway show for a trip to New York last year with my mum off the back of a recommendation from a colleague who had seen it no less than 7 (yes 7) times. While I enjoyed it on my first viewing in New York, I have to say my second viewing was so much better.  

The current UK touring production of & Juliet which has just landed in Milton Keynes has two massive stars on the roster: Jay McGuiness (formally of The Wanted) and Lee Latchford-Evans (of Steps), and for me this is what tipped it over the New York performance. Jay is a wonderful, enigmatic William Shakespeare, and you can tell Lee is having the time of his life hamming up the comedy playing Lance leading to laugh out loud moments whenever he was on stage. That’s not to say the other stars weren’t incredible; our Juliet Geradine Scadalan is a superstar with an incredible voice, and Anne played by Lara Denning brought the emotion and power every time she sang. And not to forget the supporting cast who are the most amazing dancers and kept the energy high for the whole two and a half hour show.

Yes, it’s rather cheesy, but not everything has to be so serious, and the lightheartedness is used well to highlight some serious issues, such as gender identity and taking back control of your life and there are moments that bring a tear to the eye amongst the comedy. The show has elements of a classic British Pantomime to it; a blossoming romance, narrated by Will and Anne, with comic relief provided by Lance and Angelique, and even a villain you want to boo and hiss at in Juliet’s Mother. As with a pantomime, you come away feeling a sense of joy and empowerment that only musical theatre can bring.

Photo by Matt Crockett

My personal highlight: The Bois Band’s epic performance of Everybody by the Backstreet Boys. I’m a classic Millennial so anything boyband related speaks my language and gets me dancing in my seat, and having two band experts of Jay and Lee, really lifted this performance.

The show will be perfect for fans of pop music. The music is all from the legendary music mogul Max Martin, who essentially created every banger of the 00s. From Britney to Katy Perry, legendary boybands like Nsync and Backstreet Boys, and favourites such as Ariane Grande, Jessie J and Kesha to just name a few of the amazing artists featured in this show. As I’ve previously said, the cast are outstanding singers and can belt out all the hits as if it’s their own concert, with some clever remixes thrown in there too. 

I was fortunate enough to be invited after the show to the exclusive ATG+ Members post show Q&A. Cast and crew graciously gave up their time to answer questions ranging from their audition experience to the rehearsal process and an insight into what their favourite song is from the show. It’s well worth signing up for an ATG+ Membership to access exclusive content like this plus other benefits. 

For a joyful, upbeat evening of breaking the patriarchy and tearing down gender norms to the soundtrack of the 00s you should definitely get your ticket booked for & Juliet while it’s here at the Milton Keynes Theatre.

Standout Quote or Moment: Other than The Bois Band, it has to be Angelique singing “F****** Perfect” by P!nk to Juliet to prevent her from thinking that she is the problem in a relationship. As a girl who always has her doubts, we should never think that we are less than perfect regardless of how anyone has tried to make us feel.

See If: You love 00s pop music, clever comedy, and female/queer empowerment stories.

Last Impressions: Who needs Romeo when you’ve got a loving gang of friends and an incredible singing voice!

You can find last minute tickets for the show on the ATG website.

We were kindly gifted these tickets in exchange for a review.

Written by Louise Mortimer