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 X announcement for several days.
The play, directed by Jamie Lloyd, will run 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.
Last week, the Jamie Lloyd Company 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 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.”
This week, 883 Black performers signed a letter supporting Amewudah-Rivers’s casting and condemning “the racist and misogynistic abuse” the actress has been subjected to. The letter, published in The Guardian, was penned by actress Susan Wokoma and playwright Somalia Nonyé Seaton, who wrote: “When news of Francesca Amewudah-Rivers’s casting in Jamie Lloyd’s production of ‘Romeo & Juliet’ was announced so many people celebrated and welcomed this news.” But not long after, “what followed was a too familiar horror that many of us visible Black dark-skinned performers have experienced.” Among the signatories are Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and Lolly Adefope.
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.” We definitely know one person who will be in the audience: Holland’s girlfriend, Zendaya, who told Vogue that she “could not be more proud” of Holland returning to theater. “I’m going to try to see as many shows as I possibly can,” she said.
This post has been updated.