Theatre

& Juliet at Opera House, Manchester – a musical for a life after Romeo

It's all about a life after Romeo.

Amy Williams Amy Williams - 16th July 2024

If you’re ready for some absolute classic pop songs rolled into a theatre show about a girl not needing a man in her life – this is it.

& Juliet is much like a sequel to the Shakespeare classic Romeo & Juliet, but imagines what would have happened if Juliet didn’t die at the end.

It’s all about a life after Romeo – soundtracked by non-stop pop anthems.

After finding out that her star-crossed lover actually dated lots of people, and wasn’t only in love with Juliet (all too relevant to real life I think), she decides to escape with her friends to France and live her best life.

Seeing Juliet’s second chance at love, the story between William Shakespeare and his wife, and also a prince who was being forced to find a princess (but actually was falling in love with Maye, a non-binary character also finding out about themselves), the modern-day musical is bringing love stories bang up to date.

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And the playlist that carries the & Juliet story along throughout its run in Manchester includes hits like Hit Me Baby One More Time, I Want It That Way by Backstreet boys, Roar by Katy Perry, and so many more.

One thing I absolutely cannot skip out on here is how INCREDIBLE the voices of the entire cast are, with Matt Cardle playing Shakespeare, Gerardine Sacdalan playing Juliet, Lara Denning as Anne Shakespeare and Sandra Marvin as Angelique. They really blew it out the park, and had everyone on their feet.

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Sandra Marvin as Angelique & Ranj Singh as Lance
Sandra Marvin as Angelique & Ranj Singh as Lance
Matt Cardle as Shakespeare
Matt Cardle as Shakespeare
Matt Cardle as Shakespeare
Matt Cardle as Shakespeare
Gerardine Sacdalan as Juliet (left) and the cast in & Juliet
Gerardine Sacdalan as Juliet (left) and the cast in & Juliet
& Juliet is at the Manchester Opera House this July. Credit: Matt Crockett

A mix of humour and romance, you’ll be belly laughing one minute, then filling up with tears and dancing the next.

Especially with TV doctor Ranj Singh shining in the comedic role of the French King – he was brilliant, and hilarious.

Created by the same writers as Schitts Creek (this sold it to me before I’d even see the show) The producer, Tim Headington, even came on at the end as we went on the first night in Manchester to say: “We wanted to create something where you can escape the world for just two hours, and then get up and dance at the end.” And that is absolutely what they’ve done.

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I’ve seen a lot of theatre shows now, and this has to absolutely be up there with one of my favourites.

& Juliet is on at the Manchester Opera House until 20 July – so make sure to grab your tickets before it’s too late here.

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Featured image: Matt Crockett

Theatre

Six reigns supreme at The Lowry as Henry VIII’s wives are turned into a pop group for the ages

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ incredible Tudor girl band wow a jam-packed audience at The Lowry.

Six the musical, created by a budding pair of Cambridge students back in 2017, is now a world-conquering smash hit, with productions springing up all over the world.

From Broadway to South Korea, the West End to Australia and eventually The Lowry in Salford, it’s a slick 80-minute musical that is unlike any you have seen before.

Styled like a pop concert, Six the musical is concise and tight – with every wife having their own turn in the spotlight.

I’m not going to spoil it for you, because that would simply be unfair, but what I will say is the cast is bursting at the seams with raw talent.

Image: Supplied

From the opening introductory number to the confessional balled that takes place in the middle, there is no weak link throughout the entire performance.

The six powerhouses dance together in their bedazzled boots throughout, consistently in time and always reacting to the witty remarks taking place on stage.

The live band on stage adds to the electric concert atmosphere and encourages the audience to interact as if they were catching their favourite set at Glastonbury.

Image: Supplied

At one point, some audience members couldn’t resist standing up and dancing to the epic tunes that the historic girl band were harmonising effortlessly before our eyes.

A stand out moment was Catherine Parr’s soulful plea to the audience, where for the first time during the evening you couldn’t hear a ‘woo’ or cheer serenade through the auditorium.

Overall, Six the musical rewrites your GCSE history books in the best way possible, encouraging young women to consider Henry VIIII’s iconic story in a different light.

Six is playing at The Lowry up until Sunday 1 September, and you can get your tickets here.

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Featured image: Supplied

Theatre

101 Dalmatians at Palace Theatre, Manchester – puppets, puppies, and one evil villain

Oli Lowe Oli Lowe Kym Marsh as Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians. Credit: Supplied, Phil Tragen

101 Dalmatians have arrived at the Palace Theatre in puppet form, offering family-friendly entertainment, heart warming themes and one EVIL villain. 

With extremely impressive production value, ranging from magnificent set pieces to lavish costumes, as well as some of the best puppets I’ve yet to see on stage – 101 Dalmatians will leave all entertained, from little ones to… not so little ones. 

I came into this production of 101 Dalmatians in Manchester in quite an interesting position, because if I’m being completely honest, I don’t think I’ve watched any of the movie adaptations or read any versions of the original novel since I was a young child.

So in what is quite a rarity for myself, I was watching a musical in which I hadn’t a clue what was going to happen. This made for a fun and entertaining ride throughout the entire show, although I’m sure those who’re already familiar with the plot will still find as much enjoyment as I did. 

The show as a whole was thoroughly spellbinding – offering fantastic ensemble numbers, belly-laugh comedy, a sincere and wholesome plot and as we’ll discuss in a moment, a truly fitting nemesis. 

To highlight individual performances, I’d like to first start with the protagonists of our story. Samuel Thomas as Tom, Jessie Elland as Danielle, Linford Johnson as Pongo and Emma Thornett as Perdi.

These four made a superb litter (little dog based pun for you there), spending the entirety of Act One as a foursome, building up their characters and demonstrating to the audience how important they all are to one another.

Kym Marsh as Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians. Credit: Supplied, Phil Tragen
Kym Marsh as Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians in Manchester. Credit: Supplied, Phil Tragen

Then in Act Two splitting up into their separate human/animal dynamic duos, both venturing on different quests with the sole purpose and saving the 99 other dalmatians. 

Special shout-out to Linford, Emma and the other members of the ensemble who throughout the show expertly maneuvered the K9 puppets in such a way that the biggest compliment I could pay them, is to say, that after a while I forgot they were even there. 

Now for the grey area between protagonists and villains… Casper and Jasper, portrayed wonderfully by Charles Brunton and Danny Hendrix. This dynamic duo offered constant comic relief and had by far the most fleshed out character arcs of the entire show. Transforming from clueless sidekicks, to misguided villains all the way through to repentful heroes. 

This brings us to the one, the only… Cruella De Ville. Portrayed by Kym Marsh, there was no escaping the fact that she was the person people in the audience were most eager to see. With expectations high and being tasked with taking on the role of such an iconic villain, I’m happy to say that Kym 110% delivered.

With an ominous stage presence, Kym held the audience in the palm of her hand throughout every scene she featured in. Offering up stellar vocals and dance moves to match, she really was the villain the dalmatians needed. 

All in all, 101 Dalmatians thrills as it offers big set pieces, flashy musical numbers, terrifying villains, magical puppetry and all out family-friendly entertainment. 

The show runs until 10 August and with limited tickets still available, I urge you all to get yourself down to the Palace Theatre in Manchester and enjoy 101 Dalmatians. 

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Featured image: Phil Tragen

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101 Dalmatians The Musical. Credit: Supplied, Oliver Rosser, Feast Creative

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