WhatsOnStage was recently invited into the rehearsal room to meet the cast of the first-ever UK and Ireland tour of hit musical & Juliet.
We sat down with Gerardine Sacdalan (who will portray Juliet in the production), Matt Cardle (Shakespeare), Lara Denning (Anne), Sandra Marvin (Angélique), and Dr Ranj Singh (Lance) to find out how the show is shaping up, which numbers they can't wait to perform to live audiences and their most-anticipated tour stops and see the whole cast in action in the video!
The touring cast also features Jack Danson (as Romeo), Kyle Cox (as Francois), and Jordan Broatch (as May), alongside Michael Nelson as Henry, Liam Morris as Richard, Jade Johnson as Nell / Lady C, Rosie Singha as Judith, Nia Stephen as Imogen, Psalms-Nissi Myers-Reid as Lucy / Alternate Juliet, Andilé Mabhena as Augustine / Dance Team, Harriet Caplan-Dean as Eleanor, Alexander Kranz as Lennox, Aaron Shales as Gregory / Dance Team, Toni Paise as Violet and Samuel Wilson-Freeman as Fletcher / Resident Director and Dance Captain.
After its successful run at London’s West End Shaftesbury Theatre from 2019 to 2023 and its current Broadway residency at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, the show is gearing up to open at Manchester’s Opera House next month, before visiting a series of venues listed below.
The musical, directed by Luke Sheppard, offers a twist on the classic love story, asking what might have happened if Juliet hadn’t chosen the tragic ending over Romeo. It is set to a pop-infused soundtrack featuring iconic hits penned by Max Martin, such as Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time” and Katy Perry’s “Roar”.
With a book by David West Read, the production has choreography by Jennifer Weber and set design by Soutra Gilmour. The musical’s tunes are crafted by Martin and his collaborators, while costume design is by Paloma Young, and musical supervision, orchestration, and arrangements by Bill Sherman.
The production also features lighting design by Howard Hudson, sound design by Gareth Owen, video and projection design by Andrzej Goulding, hair, wig and makeup design by Suzy Barrett, musical direction, additional arrangements and orchestrations by Dominic Fallacaro, and casting direction by Stuart Burt.
The show, which won a wealth of WhatsOnStage and Olivier Awards and picked up a five-star write-up, has already achieved global success, with an upcoming US tour scheduled to begin in September 2024, alongside a variety of international productions.
It runs in Manchester from 8 to 20 July, before visiting Blackpool’s Winter Gardens (23 to 27 July), Norwich Theatre Royal (30 July to 3 August), Glasgow Kings Theatre (13 to 24 August), Oxford New Theatre (2 to 7 September), Sunderland Empire (9 to 21 September), Hull New Theatre (23 to 28 September), Plymouth Theatre Royal (30 September to 5 October), Wolverhampton Grand (7 to 12 October), Marlowe Theatre Canterbury (14 to 19 October), Liverpool Empire (28 October to 2 November), Southampton Mayflower (5 to 9 November), Edinburgh Playhouse (12 to 16 November) and Leeds Grand (18 to 30 November).
Into 2025, the show will visit Bristol Hippodrome (14 to 25 January), New Wimbledon Theatre (27 January to 1 February), His Majesty’s Theatre Aberdeen (4 to 8 February), Curve Leicester (17 to 22 February), Bord Gais Theatre in Dublin (Woking New Victoria (11 to 15 March), Bradford Alhambra (24 to 29 March), Milton Keynes Theatre (31 March to 12 April), Nottingham Theatre Royal (14 to 19 April), Birmingham Hippodrome (21 April to 3 May), Southend Cliffs Pavilion (5 to 10 May), Stoke Regent (12 tto 17 May), Sheffield Lyceum (20 to 31 May), Newcastle Theatre Royal (2 to 7 June), Truro Hall for Cornwall (10 to 14 June) and Cardiff Millenium Centre (16 to 28 June).