&Juliet, presented by Townsville Choral Society

Judy Higgins-Olsen (Anne Hathaway) , Kieri Darrigan (Nurse Angelique), Amaya Lejarraga (Juliet) and Declan Keyes-West (May) - photo: Sonia Warrell (HelloMuse)

Although it’s well established that Romeo meets his tragic demise, does that mean that Juliet must also succumb to a similar fate? No way. That’s the premise for this brilliant reimagining, &Juliet, presented by Townsville Choral Society, of Shakespeare’s timeless tale of young love between the star-cross’d lovers, and its consequences. Instead, we are introduced to an awakened version of Juliet, encouraged and supported by her ‘sistas’ to set her life on a different path. So, strap yourself in and prepare yourself for some serious fun as Juliet catches up on what she missed out on in the original!

Director Sandra Neal and her creative team have assembled a talented and quite frankly, a smokin’ hot cast, to bring this tale to life. It certainly helps that they’re working with a mighty script, penned by Schitt’s Creek writer, David West Read, laced with plenty of good humour along the way that we’d expect from such a name. The show features two distinct narrative threads: Juliet’s adventures in a glamourous new location with new and familiar faces, which is ultimately shaped by the meta narrative told by Will Shakespeare (Sam Stewart) and his strong-willed wife, Anne Hathaway (Judy Higgins-Olsen), who are working through some unresolved issues of their own. It’s the intersection of these narrative threads that brings magic to the performance.

Amaya Lejarraga as Juliet - photo: Sonia Warrell (HelloMuse)

Amaya Lejarraga shines in the lead role of Juliet, nailing her character’s transformation from pitied to empowered. Whether she’s facing an internal crisis or embarking on a romp in her new surroundings, Lejarraga brings the right amount of vulnerability, energy and sass to her character. This one has a bright future ahead of her in the theatre.

It’s no surprise that the familiar faces of Sam Stewart and Judy Higgins-Olsen light up the stage in their integral roles of Will and Anne. So well-practised and fine-tuned in their craft is this pair that their performances appear effortless. Cleverly injecting themselves into the narrative re-write, they both bring much laughter and drama to the tale.

Adding an entirely new dimension to the character of Nurse – aka Angelique – is the delightful Kieri Darrigan whose character finds love unexpectedly in the shape of Lance, charmingly played by Luke Reynolds. The interplay between these two is utterly hilarious. It’s the addition of some new characters that also brings a refreshing aspect to this reimagining. Declan Keyes-West plays Juliet’s bestie, May, highlighting the theme of identity and continuing the Bard’s exploration of gender fluidity. Mitchell Pearce plays Frankie, who is working through some self-discovery and family issues of his own, and is another strong talent to watch in this performance.

And what would the show be without an appearance from our main boy, Romeo, oozing with equal measures of self-confidence and self-doubt, and played endearingly by the accomplished Ben Henderson.

Ben Henderson as Romeo - photo: Sonia Warrell (HelloMuse)

Supporting this team of lead roles is a very capable ensemble cast playing Montagues, Capulets, Parisians and others who never miss a beat in their vocal and choreographic work, each member weaving their own micro-story into the fabric of this tale. Acknowledgement must go to Claire Davies as vocal director and Melissa Land for choreography in preparing the cast for the challenges of this dynamic performance.

The idea of combining Shakespeare with music is pure genius and the musical score doesn’t disappoint. Led by musical director, Rianta Belford, the orchestra pump out some huge bangers from the 90s and more recent times to keep the audience’s toes tapping.

Back to the 90s - photo: Sonia Warrell (HelloMuse)

From beginning to end, the stage is an aesthetic wonderland. With more costumes changes than the number of scenes in a typical Shakespearean play, this show is a sartorial delight. Hats off to the team at The Dressing Room TSV for decking out this cast to look so damn fine. Similarly, the stage is a kaleidoscope of colour and transports the audience to some exotic locations thanks to a fantastic set design and stage realisation.

Some very minor tech issues did not hamper this slick opening night performance, and with P!nk-inspired aerial work and crowd interaction (more of this at the beginning in the “meet and greet” will definitely further amp up the crowd in future performances), this run of shows by TCS is guaranteed to be a huge success, with all of the “violent delights” but not the “violent ends”.

An explosive conclusion - photo: Sonia Warrell (HelloMuse)