About the work
& Juliet is a jukebox musical with a book by David West Read, built on the pop hits of producer Max Martin, premiered in 2019 in Manchester and the West End. The work playfully extends Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, asking: what if Juliet did not die after Romeo's death but lived on?
Plot
In a playful framing device, Shakespeare's wife Anne decides to rewrite the ending of Romeo and Juliet: instead of taking her own life, Juliet sets off for Paris to discover herself and life beyond the great tragic love. Accompanied by friends and the Nurse, she experiences new encounters, self-doubt, and self-assertion. The plot addresses modern themes of identity and self-determination—carried by Max Martin's worldwide hits.
Cultural significance
& Juliet combines the nostalgic appeal of countless pop earworms—from ...Baby One More Time to Roar—with a feminist-tinged, queer-inclusive retelling of a classic. The work became an audience success in London, on Broadway, and on tour, and exemplifies the latest generation of jukebox musicals that wittily reframe well-known songbooks into new stories.