& Juliet

Shaftesbury Theatre, London, stalls E10

When I started doing theatre trips to London, 30 years ago, I always rushed to Leicester Square, to the half price ticket booth, to see the offers and get some tickets. Nowadays, getting decent bargain tickets is a bit easier. TodayTix had online rush tickets, but for & Juliet I missed out on those. So I bought my ticket with TKTS online, TKTS is the old half price ticket booth from days gone past, but they now also have online tickets. It isn't really half price anymore, I got 40% off my stalls ticket, but it still was a good offer.

So seeing & Juliet was a last minute decision, and I really didn't know what to expect from this show. Beforehand I had mixed feeling whether or not I was going to like it. I really prefer original musicals instead a jukebox musicals, where they use hits of artists in the show. The songs of & Juliet are all by Max Martin. If you are going to make a jukebox musical, do it like they made & Juliet, it is perfect!

It is original, it is fun, it is modern, it is like like a glass of champagne bubbling away! It starts with introducing Shakespeare who just wrote Romeo & Juliet, and his wife Anne Hathaway, just didn't like the ending, so... she decides to change it! So what if Juliet didn't die? What would she do? Would she be able to follow her own path? Does she gets the chance to love again? Has she got enough 'girl power'? So we get a whole lot of unexpected twists and turns, filled with great songs, and a lot of laughs.

The whole cast was just unbelievable good! I didn't get to see Miriam-Teak Lee as Juliet, so I have to go back to see her in that role. There are a whole lot of performers I loved and I'll keep my eyes out for their future performances, like Cassidy Janson, who played Anne, and Alex Thomas-Smits, who played May. Oliver Tompsett, who played Shakespeare, has also left a lasting impression.

I know when a show is really, like really, really good, when I want to book new tickets during the interval. And for this one, I really can't wait to see this again! I also want to bring along family and friends to see it, just to also give them that buzzing, happy feeling when you've seen this show. This is just one of those feel good shows. I get a smile on my face just thinking about it.

I also added the original cast recording to my spotify list, it is so good.

This is a 5 star show and I'm sure I' going to watch it again!

Cinderella

15/10/21 stalls L70

This is the show I have been looking forward to the longest!

This is the show that broke my heart because I had to miss it's opening weekend.

From the announcement of the workshop for Cinderella in April 2019, I kept my fingers crossed that Carrie Hope Fletcher would also be offered the part of Cinderella, and it happened.! Her first principal role in a new musical, and by Andrew Lloyd Webber no less, and the opportunity to be on the original cast recording. It all sounded pretty great!

And then Covid happened and my tickets had to be postponed a lot, like really, really, really a lot. I also missed out on the opening weekend because of travel restrictions. So when I finally made my way to the Gillian Lynne theatre in London, 15 October 2021, I couldn't believe my luck.

It certainly is a very entertaining night out, but does it takes us to a “ball”?

Is it important for girls to be strong, powerful and independant? Yes, it is. Is it Ok to be different, in size, style of dresscode? Yes it is. Is it Ok to say no to the whole beauty industry? Yes it is. Did girls and woman get objectified in the past, and is it Ok now do the same with boys and men? No, sorry it isn't... And yes, I am now talking about the half naked hunks on stage. So Emerald Fennell, who wrote the story and the book, totally reinvented the whole Cinderella story, into something new and unexpected. I can't say I'm in love with the result, even though I get the idea behind it. Girls nowadays just don't have to wait for prince charming to come along, but they can explore the world the way they want to!

The cast, they are simply all amazing, and perfectly cast in their roles, what a group of powerful voices! Carrie Hope Fletcher is a perfect Cinderella, she just puts so much soul and emotion in her performances. Every song sounds very recognisable as a Andrew Lloyd Webber song, and he remains my favorite composer. The ballads of this show are so dreamy, with my favorite 'I know I have a heart' on top, that song lingered in my head for so long, Carrie's voice, that dress, that lighting... just perfect! Ivano Turco's 'Only you, lonely you' was fragile and beautiful. There sure are a lot of songs that are on my playlist and will remain there, because I just love them. The ball itself, after the interval, wow, such fun! I wished I could join them waltzing the night away. But I will stop talking about that -spoilers-

The costumes are all glitzy and glamorous, beauty has a price and you can certainly see it in the costumes and the 'OMG' shoes!

But, will this show be a long running West End show? I don't think so... and the problem for me is the book. I am not into the storyline. It is like there are too much 'important actual themes' woven into the storyline, that it simply covers up the story too much.

I would love to go see this show multiple times, but to be fair, only to see Carrie Hope Fletcher perform, not so much for the show itself. I still give this show 4 stars!