& Juliet really is a jukebox joy of what could have been

& Juliet

Theatre Royal, Plymouth, ****

A vibrant story of empowerment and riding life's ups and downs brings the vibes, energy and blistering pop to stage as & Juliet comes to Devon this week.

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The show imagines how young Juliet's future may have played out if she had not ended it all so hastily over her first love Romeo.

Set on the opening night of Shakespeare's latest play, Romeo and Juliet, the famous writer and his wife Anne Hathaway come to a disagreement on how the love story should develop and instead see what else could be written in Juliet's stars.

The comedy and fun starts early and continues throughout the show as Will and Anne set Juliet off on a new journey travelling and meeting new faces with the help of her nurse and best buddies May and April.

But in true Shakespeare style 'the course of true love never runs smooth' and the Bard continues to write Juliet more twists and predicaments to deal with, much to the annoyance of Anne.

The show's hit-list is quite something with songs coming from the extensive successful catalogue of Swedish songwriter Max Martin who is behind the most famous songs of pop stars including Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Ariana Grande, Pink and many more.

The songwriter/producer is behind more Number One hits than any other artist this century. And all the big numbers are here - Baby One More Time, Roar, I Want it That Way, and Can't Stop the Feeling - but thankfully this show is more than a string of chart-toppers. It is one which succeeds in its aim to provide a much more theatrical experience with a lively and engaging story for audiences to invest in thanks to the talents of Emmy award-winning writer of Schitt's Creek, David West Read, providing the book.

The musical premiered in 2019 before moving on to success on the West End and Broadway. This the first UK tour spells out the future success and the world-wide appeal with the musical looking set for lengthy global domination, similar to the tunes it features.

Characters are hoisted to impressive heights with chandeliers, fair rides and a stage come balcony scene creating a stadium worthy performance of the pop anthems that are being belted out by Gerardine Sacdalan as Juliet. Taking the lead she rocks and has a voice of such sweet tone and power.

X Factor winner Matt Cardle takes on Shakespeare with much mirth and an excellent rapport with Harriet Caplan-Dean as Anne.

Juliet's nurse, played expertly by Sandra Marvin, enjoys her own back story when she reunites with lover Lance. This playful pairing was great and I personally very much enjoyed Ranj Singh's performance making a fantastic musical theatre debut in the role of Lance.

Costumes and set mix modern and historical and there was much to admire.

Confetti canons help conclude the excitement of the night - A jukebox joy!

& Juliet is showing at Plymouth's Theatre Royal until Saturday, October 5.