Juliet & Romeo (2025) review: There’s nothing tragic about this musical

Verona, 1301. You know the rest. Most of it, anyway. Juliet & Romeo instead of Romeo & Juliet doesn’t really matter here. What does matter is that this is Shakespeare as you’ve never seen it before – and you’ll be left wondering why.

As a musical, and a pop musical at that, it won’t suit all tastes, but the way it’s acted, choreographed, and just generally put together, means that those involved probably don’t give a shiny sonnet.

The foreboding tragedy hasn’t been diluted (no shirking from violence, for a start) and yet Juliet & Romeo captures the fun element that was hidden there all along, in a way the stage play – or other movie adaptations, come to that – never could. That’s not down to it being a musical, but factors like the melting-pot of a cast we’ve got on our hands. An all-star line-up is married with some truly bright young things, which can sometimes spell disaster for a picture, but there’s no danger of that in this case.

Playing the title roles are Clara Rugaard and Jamie Ward, with Rupert Everett, Rebel Wilson (Lord and Lady Capulet) and Jason Isaacs (Lord Montague) as the doubting parents. You could be hyper-critical by saying that the latter are somewhat underused, but such are the performances of both Rugaard and Ward, that you can be sure they didn’t mind a bit when they read the script. Adding a truly Shakespearean element is none other than that leading thesp, Derek Jacobi – and who doesn’t love a bit of Sir Del? We get much more than a bit here, as he plays the unfortunate friar stuck in the middle of the infamous family feud. It really encapsulates how youth and experience get on like a house on fire in this production, and it’s one of several fine balancing acts that Juliet & Romeo gets bang on.

At one point, the tunes do come a little too thick and fast, which kind of upsets momentum for a spell. Thankfully, this is just a temporary glitch, although on that note (pun intended) the style of songs are very much for this day and age, so viewers of a certain vintage be warned. Yet even fans of the more traditional surely wouldn’t begrudge members of the cast a bit of praise for their vocal efforts. Besides, you have to applaud how director Timothy Scott Bogart managed to pull it all off within the fantastically authentic medieval, Italian renaissance setting.

And the title? Well, okay, that slight modification won’t sit well with every single audience member, but don’t be fooled into thinking that Juliet & Romeo has fallen into some post-feminist trap that many productions have come under fire for in recent years. That temptation has been well and truly resisted, and our heroine is a sparkling combo of the traditional damsel in distress and modern female role model. Think Linda Kozlowski in Crocodile Dundee, with a 21st-century twist.

If that comparison’s not unexpected enough for you, the ending’s bound to divide opinion, so you make up your own mind. One inescapable fact is that this gem of an adaptation hits UK cinemas for one night only on June 11, which is the biggest criticism by miles, as it’s definitely not enough!

Visit julietandromeofilm.co.uk to find a screening near you among the listings. Juliet & Romeo promises much pleasure, with some potential to polarise. Now, surely that’s something the Bard himself would approve of.