Expect a gloriously silly two and a half hours of girl power.

Built around the powerhouse-pop of songwriter extraordinaire Max Martin, jukebox musical & Juliet imagines a world where the female half of Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers not only survived, but thrived without her Romeo.

Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears dominated the airwaves during my teenage years, but you don't have to be a 90s teeny bopper to love every second of this soundtrack featuring songs from Katy Perry, Jessie J, Robyn and more. 

(Image: Mayflower Theatre) READ MORE: Coronation Street star and X Factor singer on Chicago

They're deployed very cleverly, more so, I dare say, than in any other jukebox musical. The shoehorning is performed knowingly and joyously, so much so that you don't even raise an eyebrow when an Elizabethan teenager grieves over the body of her lover to the strains of Baby One More Time! 

The plot is an absolute hoot and should most definitely not be taken seriously. Think Shakespeare not just rewritten for the 21st Century, but shaped into a hysterical woke panto.

Matt Cardle is a delight as The Bard, displaying brilliant chemistry with wife Anne Hathaway, performed by Lara Denning is a show-stealing turn. Anne is not happy with the ending of the greatest love story ever written. She persuades Shakespeare to let her rewrite the play as an empowering feminist road trip which takes us 600 miles from Verona to Paris. 

Geraldine Sacdalan as Juliet and Sandra Marvin as her 'nursemaid' Angelique both put in powerhouse performances in a show where the vocals all round are nothing short of superb.

(Image: Mayflower Theatre) Despite the feminist leanings, one of the highlights of the evening involves a makeshift boy band performing Everybody (Backstreet's Back).

At the risk of a spoiler, Jack Danson is also rather ridiculous and perfectly pitiful as Romeo, back from the dead thanks to Shakespeare in another row with his long-suffering missus. 

All the rewriting is certainly done affectionately, gently ribbing the legendary writing of The Bard. At one point, Juliet solemnly declares to her next potential partner that she's just come out of a 'very serious relationship' of 'four days'.

The show certainly made last night's audience 'roar'. They didn't have to be asked twice to jump to their feet, clap their hands and tap their toes to a rip-roaring finale. 

& Juliet runs until Saturday. Tickets from mayflower.org.uk