“Threading through everyone’s contribution here is the sheer love of theatre… immense fun …”
Kate Stratford
4 Stars
Venue: Riverside Theatre
Parramatta
Dates: 4th-19th October 2025
Anne Hathaway doesn’t like the ending to her husband’s play Romeo & Juliet. She suggests if might be more interesting to explore what would happen if Juliet survived and went on to live a different life, a life of real choices, not those restrictive choices made under parental and societal pressure. Thus, from the Verona crypt to Paris, Juliet sets off on a journey of self-discovery, accompanied by her Nurse, her gay best friend May and Ann Hathaway herself. Attaching himself to this little cavalcade is Will, quill ready, to shake the story up a bit. The most shaken perhaps being the Du Bois Band (Backstreet Boys tribute) performance by Will, Romeo, Juliet’s fiancé Francois, Francois’ dad Lance and Juliet’s best friend/Francois’ love interest, May. Sounds complicated? Don’t worry. This is theatre and everything will be resolved. It is hilarious. But no more spoilers.
& Juliet is a jukebox musical featuring songs by Max Martin, with a book by Schitt’s Creek’s David West Read. Not just a coming-of-age story, it offers much more. It features LGBTQIA characters, including non-binary performers and storylines, offering a queer love story and a broader, inclusive world. There are brief forays into the nature of creativity and how it can become the centre of an artist’s world. It has humour and heart; lessons about how even mature relationships can find new hope and with its energetic choreography, pop soundtrack, and focus on powerful performances, the show creates a celebratory atmosphere. For the more erudite, there are many sly – and not so sly – references to Shakespeare’s body of work and contribution to language and dramatic form.
Jade Lee is a strong Juliet, hitting every musical note and moment of choreography with vivacious accuracy. Daniel Timmins as May and Ryan McLean as François Du Bois both help tell the story with unmistakable passion. Romeo appears near the conclusion of Act 1, brought back to life by Baxter Waller whose appearance forcibly reminds one of every boy band member. Ever. There is a sort of early Adam Ant feel in this Romeo.
Equally glorious are Annette Vitetta as Angélique/Nurse and Marika Zorlu as Anne Hathaway/April. The precise niceness of their understanding of character and delivery of song bring warmth and depth to the storyline as well as giving it shape and form. Ben James’ William Shakespeare is egotistically mischievous and Brad Clarke as Lance Du Bois is charming; but make no mistake, this show belongs to the women. Also notable is the energetic ensemble cast, bringing their own brand of compare and contrast to the performance. Some need to stay in character and maintain focus more when on the fringes of a scene but this is precisely what actors can learn and experience from this level of production.
The directors (Rodrigo Medina Noel & William Pulley) have understood the brief well and encouraged their cast to unleash all the passion that Shakespeare’s work, music and dance should inspire. This is a hard gig and knowing when to get out of the way and when to be insistent with the vision is always the challenge for directors. Threading through everyone’s contribution here is the sheer love of theatre.
PACA Productions is to be congratulated for bringing & Juliet to Parramatta. It is a demanding show, requiring multiple set changes, intense choreography (Janina Hamerlok) and a strong sense of joy and whimsy. And whilst a little raw around the edges, it has all this in spades. Not a fully professional production, the complete exhilaration of the show overrides those rough-hewn moments. More importantly, it provides aspiration for up-and-coming theatre stars to perform, affordable tickets for theatre lovers and access to the magic of theatre for many.
& Juliet is the perfect vehicle to introduce high-schoolers to Shakespeare and school excursions and/or family excursions would promote not only a brilliant entry into the Bard’s work, but provoke discussion about old messages and attitudes. We cannot possibly find the notion of a 14-year-old girl killing herself for love acceptable anymore, no matter how tragic. But that is only one issue & Juliet throws up for discussion. And theatre performs best when it provokes an audience into extended talk all the way home.
Make this the family outing these holidays. At the most basic, it is immense fun but there is more there if you are open to it.
Photo credit GRANT LESLIE PHOTOGRAPHY
Kate Stratford, Theatre Now
