& Juliet is a jukebox musical, using the many many hits of Swedish songwriter Max Martin to tell this very modern, feminist, queer and diverse adaptation of the most famous tragedy of all time. & Juliet explores an alternative, much happier ending to Juliet’s story.
Star turn: Lorinda May Merrypor, playing the title role as Juliet, brings show-stopping musical talent to the Lyric Theatre stage. Image : Daniel Boud
The musical was written in 2019 by David West Read, who is best known for his work on Schitt’s Creek. The most obvious forebear for & Juliet is the musical Six, a musical that retells the story of the six wives of Henry VIII through pop music. Like Six, & Juliet features a diverse cast and is a very consciously updated take on early modern English history. The costumes feature nods to Elizabethan clothing styles, for instance, but are also decidedly modern.
Befitting the name of the show, Juliet (played by Lorinda May Merrypor) is at the centre of the action here as the show explores what an empowered, very contemporary Juliet might be like. There’s a rather charming piece of exposition around Juliet’s age; happily, in this show at least, she is not 13.
A delightful running joke is Shakespeare reminding the audience of how many popular expressions he invented.
Romeo (Blake Appelqvist), accordingly, is pushed to the side of the action of & Juliet – and rightly so, given the title and the subject of the musical. He does, however, get the best entrance of any Shakespearean hero, and he is a delightfully amusing presence throughout the second act.
It is Anne Hathaway (Amy Lehpamer), however, who steals the show. As Katherine West Scheil argues in her book Imagining Shakespeare’s Wife, Anne is often represented as the older, boring wife that Shakespeare abandoned while he was busy becoming a famous actor and playwright in London, although recent revisionist texts have challenged that view. In & Juliet, Anne has come to London for a night out – they have a babysitter! – and she’s keen to make her own mark on the show. It is Anne who suggests exploring an alternative ending for Juliet, and it is Anne who writes herself into the action of the show as one of Juliet’s friends.
Theatre with pop: Though Blake Appelqvist plays a supporting side act as Romeo, the actor brings delightful humour to the role. Image: Daniel Boud
The show becomes a surprisingly sensitive exploration of the Shakespeare marriage, presenting the couple as creative collaborators. Amy Lehpamer and Rob Mills are outstanding as Anne and William respectively, and Lehpamer’s rendition of “That’s The Way It Is” is a show-stopper.
The music is absolutely delightful and brilliant woven in throughout the show to advance the narrative. The cast of young performers is very impressive (shout out to the girl sitting behind me who kept yelling 'SLAY'). A clear highlight is the performance of “Everybody” by De Bois Band, which had the audience in absolute stitches. Hayden Tee as Lance is clearly having the time of his life.
Absolutely no prior knowledge of Shakespeare is implied, with the show explaining the plot of Romeo and Juliet for any younger audience members. A delightful running joke is Shakespeare reminding the audience of how many popular expressions he invented.
Joyful diversity: Jesse Dutlow shines as May, Juliet's non-binary best friend. Image: Daniel Boud
The show might be taken as a critique of Shakespeare: wouldn’t the play be better if Juliet didn’t die? However, I would argue that & Juliet is an affirmation of the power of Shakespeare’s plays to be interpreted and reinterpreted anew for every generation. We want to see an independent Juliet, free from the shackles of being just the “and” after Romeo, and so that’s what the show gives us.
& Juliet is a giant bubble of absolute joy, which is not something one usually associates with Romeo & Juliet. Go see it – this place is about to blow.
Dr Stephanie Russo is an Associate Professor in the Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Languages and Literature.
