This energetic, laugh-out-loud show is unmissable.
21 April 2026REVIEW BY HANNA SLOAN. Photo Credit: Janelle McMenamin
Free-Rain Theatre Company
The Q -Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre
April 19th 2026
Free-Rain Theatre Company’s & Juliet is absolutely electric. With a stacked roster of epically talented leads and supporting ensemble alike, this production gives you chills from the opening number. Chloe Stevenson as Juliet is both vulnerable and spirited, with a powerhouse voice to boot. You’d be forgiven for not believing she’s only 18 with the star power she possesses and the way she commands the room.
Costumes are a delightful cross of Elizabethan corsetry and ruffs with modern sneakers and denim, signalling that the story exists in a limbo world of Shakespeare enhanced with modern pop music. The choreography is sensational, and the cast performs it with great energy right up to the final curtain. Set and prop changes are skilfully woven into the choreography, minimising distractions.
Within the story, audiences can’t help but root for this musical’s answer to star-crossed lovers, Frankie and May, whose connection faces very real obstacles.
Katie Lis as Angelique, Juliet’s nurse, brings humour and heart in one package of roof-lifting vocals, and her scenes with eccentric Frenchman Lance (David Santolin) had the audience in stitches.
Mackinley Brown’s Romeo balances bravado with a real charm that endears you to him, despite his offstage playboy antics. Jackson Gibbs as William Shakespeare is cheeky, breaking the fourth wall with winks to the audience, much to the exasperation of wife Anne Hathaway. Anne, played by the brilliant Vanessa Valois, is yet another powerhouse vocalist in this cast, also bringing comic relief and tenderness in spades. She is the driver for this on-the-go rewriting of the classic tragedy, spurred on by the enthusiasm of the players as they reject Shakespeare’s attempts to keep the original ending intact.
A highlight of the show is “Dubois Band” where Lance, Will, Romeo, Frankie, and May perform the most iconic of boy band songs, Everybody (Backstreet’s Back), complete with boy band choreography and swooning fans while the audience grooves in their seats.
This energetic, laugh-out-loud show is unmissable and is a true credit to the passion of the production team, cast, and crew.