REVIEW: Shakespeare's tragic love story gets a twist with & Juliet at Milton Keynes Theatre

& Juliet has arrived at Milton Keynes Theatre for two weeks as part of its UK & Ireland tour and asks, what would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo?

There was a quirky pre-show few minutes before the lights dropped, as cast members wandered around the stage, chatting, polishing props, waving at the audience, and even supping from a mug – it was a prelude to the slightly unusual and rather unique performance that we were about to witness.

The story picks up with Shakespeare (Jay McGuinness) being told by his wife Anne (Lara Denning) that his original ending is rubbish – and she’s going to rework it so the heroine doesn’t fatally dagger herself over a man.

Shakespeare is reluctant to see his story ripped up, but his wife is determined to set Juliet off in a different direction. The relationship between the pair was the highlight of the show for me. What a great double act.

And the way certain songs slotted into the plot was inspired at times. As they bickered over her changes, we had ‘I Want It THAT way’ (Backstreet Boys) to emphasise that Anne wasn’t about to compromise on her rewrite – in fact she had her eye on rewriting endings for his entire back catalogue!

Anne is certainly an enthusiastic writer and so even pens herself a role in the play. Romeo’s funeral takes place and the new script is a bit of an eye-opener for Juliet (Gerardine Sacdalan) as it reveals that he had quite a few exs, who all come to mourn.

Threatened by her mother with a life as a nun, Juliet leaves Verona for Paris – via a rather wacky carriage which was part made up of a bicycle wheel with stablisers and a carousel horse. Nevetheless it got her to her destination in little over a minute, so who am I to criticise!

Realism is thrown aside too as they gatecrash the Renaissance ball thrown by the wealthy De Bois family – it’s 1595 Paris but we’ve got a DJ on the decks and tunes pumping out of massive speakers.

It’s here we’re introduced to Lance (former Steps star Lee Latchford-Evans) who threatens his son Francois (Kyle Cox) with being sent to join the army if he doesn’t find a bride soon. He tentatively sets his sights on Juliet, but her friend May (Jordan Broatch) might just throw a spanner in the works as the pair have a strong attraction too.

That love interest is all thanks to meddling Shakespeare muscling in and adapting his wife’s script, much to her dismay. He also brings Romeo (Liam Morris) back from the dead to really complicate the plot.

Elsewhere, romance is on the cards too between Lance and Angelique (the excellent Sandra Marvin) and the bedroom scene between the pair, set to Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream, was great fun. The performance of Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) is a right laugh too as Francois, Lance, Romeo, May and Shakespeare form the De Bois Band with hilarious results.

The show has a playlist of pop anthems that you couldn’t fail to enjoy if it’s your era. Mr and Mrs Shakespeare were really on song with their vocals, and Juliet also did a fine job.

The set design was impressive and the use of video projection gave it an added dimension. Golden ticker tape added extra pizzazz too – I just pity the poor cleaners who will spend hours collecting it all up after each performance!

Overall this is a fun, clever, and brilliantly chaotic show that’d be a tragedy to miss.

& Juliet runs until Saturday, April 12. Book your tickets here.