At the end of March, London’s Jamie Lloyd Company announced that its upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet would star Tom Holland and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers. Minutes after Amewudah-Rivers shared the news on her Instagram, the actress — who is Black — was met with racist comments about her casting as Juliet.
“But the character is white,” one person wrote. “The world is not racist, but this is the worst casting ever for Juliet,” another commented. People continued to leave similar comments on the company’s Twitter announcement for several days.
The play, directed by Jamie Lloyd, will be at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London from May 11 to August 3. It marks Holland’s first major theater role since his debut in Billy Elliot: The Musical.Meanwhile, Amewudah-Rivers has starred in two seasons of Bad Education, three short films, and several stage productions. The production is already sold out and is rumored to be heading to Broadway after it closes in London, per Deadline.
Now, the Jamie Lloyd Company has responded to the slew of racist comments. “Following the announcement of our Romeo & Juliet cast, there has been a barrage of deplorable racial abuse online directed towards a member of our company. This must stop,” a statement shared to the company’s Instagram account on Friday read. The company added that it will “continue to support and protect everyone in our company at all costs. Any abuse will not be tolerated and will be reported.”
When the play was announced, Amewudah-Rivers called it a “dream.” She added: “I’m excited to bring a fresh energy to this story alongside Tom, and to welcome new audiences to the theatre.”
By Tariro Mzezewa , 2024-04-08 18:51:32
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