Matu Ngaropo says he feels the pressure stepping into the shoes of William Shakespeare. Photo / Getty Images
Matu Ngaropo says he feels the pressure stepping into the shoes of William Shakespeare. Photo / Getty Images
Matu Ngaropo has had a lifelong attachment to Shakespeare, so it’s not surprising that he keeps playing the bard himself.
Ngaropo is appearing as the world’s greatest playwright in the spectacular musical &Juliet, set to tour Aotearoa New Zealand next year, following Something Rotten at the Court Theatre in 2024and 21 full-length Shakespeare productions over his career.
“It’s a bit of pressure stepping into the shoes of someone so legendary,” Ngaropo admits, “but I’ve been lucky enough to play other legends in the past – George Washington in Hamilton, Sir Apirana Ngata in the feature film Whina.”
Ngaropo’s relationship with Shakespeare started under his high school drama teacher, acting in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello and, of course, Romeo and Juliet.
From there he was New Zealand’s first intern at The Globe Theatre in London in the late 1990s and was part of the Ngakau Toa company that performed a te reo Māori version of Troilus and Cressida at the Globe to Globe Festival in 2012.
“I’ve had a really long and quite complex relationship with Shakespeare over the last 30 years,” he said.
Ngaropo's relationship with Shakespeare began in high school and includes a te reo Māori performance at The Globe. Photo / Alex Robertson
Ngaropo is, understandably, a bit of a purist but he also loves that &Juliet flips the script.
“The original play is the departure point so it’s something that everybody is familiar with,” Ngaropo explains, “But this thing of creative licence and that departure point to build a show like this is quite phenomenal.
”Shakespeare’s work is timeless. But this show in particular, not only do you have the premise of Romeo and Juliet, but you also have an incredible array of pop songs that are in the current zeitgeist.”
The songs are a jukebox hit-list from singers such as Katie Perry, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, The Backstreet Boys and Justin Timberlake, all penned by the Swedish maestro Max Martin, interwoven through a script by Schitt’s Creek creator David West Read that explores a new direction for Juliet: what if she decided not to follow Romeo with her last words “O happy dagger, This is thy sheath: there rust, and let me die”?
Ngaropo is really excited to be working with a “heavy-hitting cast” including the likes of Awhimai Fraser (Moana 2), Kristin Paulse (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical and Rent) and the “incredible powerhouse vocalist” Lavina Williams (Lion King, Hairspray, Sister Act).
And he loves that the script references the original through contemporary pop culture.
“Not only do you have incredible songs sung and danced by amazing world-class performers in this company, you have all these little Easter eggs and these tidbits that as an audience you get to lap up and enjoy,” he enthused.
“People who are Shakespeare buffs will love it. People who are pop culture buffs will love it. People who are musical theatre buffs will love the show. There’s something for everybody.”
&Juliet is showing at the Civic Theatre from April 9 to May 3, Wellington St James’ from May 9 to May 24 and Christchurch Isaac Theatre Royal from May 30 to June 13.
