& Juliet Review Aberdeen
& Juliet Review Aberdeen – Burst your way from Winter into Spring with the ‘& Juliet’ musical at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen, where the basic concept is, what would happen to Juliet if she didn’t die in the famous Shakespeare play?
Answer – her life would be FAB-U-LOUS. The first half of & Juliet is full of life, colour and pumped up pop tunes from Britney Spears to the Backstreet Boys and Katie Perry. There’s lots of comedy too, but I wouldn’t expect anything less with writers from Schitts Creek involved in the production. The older characters (by old, I mean those not playing teenagers!) grab many of the best scenes and lines. Stand outs include Lara Denning as Anne Hathaway (Shakespeare’s wife) who channels Stevie from Miranda vibes. Any mum with a babysitter enjoying a night out at the theatre can relate to Anne’s outlook. This musical is definitely one to enjoy childfree!
Lee Latchford-Evans from Steps fame, works well as the besotted and comedy horny king figure of Lance Dubois, who’s entwined with the absolutely fabulous Nurse character played by the inspiring presence of Sandra Marwin. Their bedroom scene is classic, Nurse is quite beside herself. But it’s not just the grown ups who have all the fun, Kyle Cox is adorably funny as the Prince figure of Francois, playing his virginal with vigour. And I adored the stupid cuteness of Romeo played by Jack Danson, he reminded me of my 11 year old 🙂 He’s the GOAT, so skibidi rizz.
In terms of raw talent some of the voices blow the roof off. Juliet, wow, listen to that girl sing. The pipes on Gerardine Sacdalan should be insured. The vocal talents of Sandra Marwin (Nurse) are off the scale – turns out she sang the title track on the Grammy-winning soundtrack for the George Clooney and Sandra Bullock film Gravity. Her voice is so powerful. Denning’s rendition of That’s the Way It Is is a bit of a showstopper too. Also listen out for the talent of Toni Paise in the chorus line. Other names you may recognise include Jay McGuinness from The Wanted.
I’m sure there’s also a pastiche number from Chicago the Musical thrown in there too for good measure, plus an amusing Boy Band moment which I’m certain Lee from Steps relished.
The second half got a bit preachy about the power of love, identity and girlpower, so less silliness, more kick-ass messaging, but cool costumes throughout, you’re never bored, the songs and humour never let up, so go see it. And remember, there’s life after Romeo…
& Juliet runs in Aberdeen till Saturday 8 Feb, with evening shows at 1930, a Thursday matinee at 1400 and a Saturday matinee at 1430. Get info and tickets here. If you can’t make the Aberdeen dates then see where the tour hits next as it runs till the end of June 2025.
If you liked this & Juliet Review then don’t miss a post, enter your email address in the follow box and You’re In, join the conversation on Facebook, or check out the bonny photos on Instagram. For any queries or opportunities please email scots2travel@hotmail.com. Text copyright of Scots2Travel and press images by Matt Crockett. Scots2Travel were guests of Aberdeen Performing Arts for review purposes. Check out our Privacy Policy here.
