★ ★ ★ ★

Reviewer - Harry

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review

CW: strong language and sexual themes - Implied Self Harm and Sexual Assault

A little theatre in Manchester is paving the way for brand-new musicals. Hope Mill Theatre presents Julie: The Musical to its stage. The historical LGBTQ+ icon Julie D’Aubigny is at the forefront of this striking new production. Seeing all the developments going into one show makes it very exciting to see that new, important, and fun stories are emerging in the industry.

Julie: The Musical is the story of Julie D’Aubigny who was a public figure and one of the first people who was openly bisexual, written and directed by Abey Bradbury. Abey takes the audience through the events of Julie's life before she turned 30 years of age.

My initial thoughts on the show were, what would the concept of the show be? Was it going to be presented as a show that is directed at the audience and breaks the fourth wall, or will it be more of your conventional and traditional style of a biopic story? Also, what style of the genre is the show going to be, and what other general thoughts like the themes and message?

I was intrigued and wanted to know more and I’m very happy that I got the chance to see this brand new show that has some true love written into it and a potential for a bright future ahead of it.

The show’s themes are quite deep with themes of sexual assault and suicide, which are both implied. The message of the show, and what I took away from it, was it was about being yourself and not what other people want you to be. Be your own person but don’t push it too far, this clearly shows in one of the song titles “Me, Myself & I” and the song “Breathe Again”

Like always, my reviews are 100% honest and I will always justify my ratings, thoughts and feelings, always giving constructive feedback and my opinions are my own.

The show takes you on the journey through key stages of Julie’s life, from becoming Count D’Armanc’s mistress at 14 years of age, to joining the opera scene in Paris, right up to her body in a rubbish heap. The show takes you through the most important and maybe touching parts of the iconic figures’ life.

Abey Bradbury’s script is witty, funny, and has heartfelt moments within. Bradbury has created a show which is full of layers and dynamics. I do think there are areas of the script that a few tweaks would help, such as the timeline transitions. Abey has created very well unique characters and understood who they are and what involvement they had within the time.

Abey shows off the relationship between Marie and Julie well, the sense of Marie’s fixation on Julie from the first meet and when they both meet again, showing the love has never stopped, seeing that relationship between both of the characters was brilliantly portrayed.

The theme of LGBTQ+ runs through the show clearly and the message of being who you are and don’t change and finding who you are is truly special and is greatly done through the written work.

For people who don't know about Julie D’Aubigny it’s an admirable educational show, and I do admire what Abey Bradbury has done with the facts and research to make the show feel 21st century.

The songs are written cleverly, some are enthusiastic and some have an empowering theme to them. There’s quite a mixture between them which I feel could be defined more. The lyrics were enjoyable and sweet with songs like “Me Myself and I” having a strong theme about standing up for who you are. The songs did have toe-tapping moments and I did actually enjoy the song but again I just couldn’t find the right genre to it.

The atmospheric staging at the Hope Mill Theatre worked with the staging design which was simple but not too overpowering by Rebecca Cox to create the story. Plus Rebecca and Abey have given a new twist on historical costume design making them look stylish and unique. Overall staging, sound and lighting added to the cast performances to take the audience into the 17th Century with a twist.

Performing on stage are 5 exceptional performer-musicians all but 4 multi-rolling between different historical figures of Julie's life.

Sam Kearney-Edwards plays the title role. They take the character to a sarcastic and funny side and how the show is written it’s definitely like Julie’s show. Sam Kearney-Edwards is a great performer throughout and shows the historical figure in a fearless and powerhouse way, they kept the audience engaged through the character’s direct audience address moments, facial expressions, and delivery of lines, they also had an excellent relationship with the rest of the cast/characters which was great to see.

Marquiesse Marie De Florensac, played by Georgina Liela Stoller, was a great character. I felt that she had a mothering nature to the characters and showed mentorship to Julie. The relationship she showed was a really good one and she held it very well. Georgina also multi-roled into other characters during the show, which was done very well, the switch was clear through every character. Her voice blended well with Sam’s through the duet moments, both performers creating sweet and pleasant harmonies and also showing her own individual vocals well.

The whole cast created and arranged a variety of wonderful harmonies, the cast create a great ensemble and worked together to create this brand-new show that is a unique history lesson about a figure who paved the way for the LGBTQ+ community.

Julie the Musical is a unique history lesson with a twist.