The world’s best-known love story with a new ending: & Julia hit musical will have its Finnish premiere at the Helsinki City Theatre in autumn 2026

What if Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet didn’t end in death, but Juliet survived the tragedy? This is the question posed in The Musical & Julia, in which William Shakespeare and his wife Anne Hathaway rewrite the ending of the classic – Juliet gets to choose differently and start over. There are many levels that run side by side in the musical. Shakespeare and Hathaway brainstorm, write and comment on Juliet’s new story, which Shakespeare’s theatre troupe performs on stage.

& Julia is an energetic jukebox musical where the 16th century theatre world meets the disco and party aesthetics of the 21st century.

“Let’s shake the dust off Shakespeare! The genius of the musical Jukebox is measured by how skillfully the scriptwriters weave the flow of the story together with the lyrics of hits known to everyone. It creates such speed and energy that the audience will definitely not be able to stay in their seats at the end of the thank you at the latest,” says theatre director Kari Arffman.

The music consists of world-famous hits composed by Swedish Max Martin for Britney Spears, Bon Jovi, the Backstreet Boys and Katy Perry, among others. Director Samuel Harjanne thinks that the familiar pop classics have been woven into the story so skilfully that the musical forces you to listen to their lyrics with new ears.

“I was stunned when I noticed that I was dealing with the songs differently because of the story of the work. What they actually say is really great and insightful. If Shakespeare was a pop icon of the 16th century, then Max Martin is truly a pop icon of the 90s and 00s, and possibly even the Shakespeare of our time,” Harjanne ponders.

The musical was written by David West Read, also known for the popular Netflix comedy series Schitt’s Creek. Max Martin has been responsible for the musical’s composition. The musical premiered under the name & Juliet in 2019 at the Opera House in Manchester, from where it moved to the West End at the end of the same year and to Broadway in 2022. The musical features some of the biggest hits of the 1990s and early 2000s, such as “Since U Been Gone”, “Larger Than Life”, “… Baby One More Time”, “I Want It That Way”, “It’s going to Be Me”, “Roar”, “It’s My Life”, “Stronger” and many more.

The musical is directed by Samuel Harjanne. The conductor is Eeva Kontu and the choreographer is Gunilla Olsson-Karlsson. The set design is by Peter Ahlqvist. The costume design is done by Elina Kolehmainen. Toni Haaranen and William Iles are responsible for the lighting and video design, and Kai Poutanen is responsible for the sound design. The camouflage is designed by Aino Hyttinen. The musical has been translated into Finnish by Paavo Leppäkoski and the dramaturg is Henna Piirto. The performers of the musical will be announced in February 2026.

Read the director’s interview on the theatre’s website: New beginnings and the intoxication  of pop hitsThe performance will be subtitled in Finnish, Swedish and English.  & Julia premiere 20.8.2026 on the big stage of the Helsinki City Theatre (Eläintarhantie 5).  Basic ticket 96 €, student ticket 48 € (Mon–Thu), pensioner ticket 93 € (Mon–Thu). For members of our loyalty program, the Theatre Club, a discount in the online store: -12 €/ticket until 31.12.2025. #jajuliamusikaali @hktfi Helsinki City Theatre’s ticket sales and customer service by phone (09) 394022 Mon-Fri 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ticket offices First Line 2, Mon-Fri 12 noon-5 pm, Eläintarhantie 5, Sat (performance days) 11 am-6 pm and one hour before the performance and Lippu.fi, Mon-Sat 9 am-9 pm, Sun 10 am-6 pm, tel. 0600 900 900 (2 €/min + local network charge) www.hkt.fi Further information, media ticket reservations and interview requests:Communications Manager Kaisa Pelkonen, kaisa.pelkonen@hkt.fi, 040 552 3788Helsinki City Theatre, Ensi linja 2, 00530 Helsinki