The Jamie Lloyd Company and upcoming West End production Romeo & Juliet, starring Spider-Man actor Tom Holland, have released a joint statement following their casting announcements resulting in an outpouring of racist abuse at a member of the company. The statement, which was posted by both the show and Jamie Lloyd Company, which recently produced the smash-hit West End revival of Sunset Boulevard, came following the onslaught, as well as comments being turned off for all posts on the production’s account.
Taking to social media, the joint statement read: “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”. The post continued, promising to “continue to support and protect everyone in our company at all costs. Any abuse will not be tolerated and will be reported. Bullying and harassment have no place online, in our industry or in our wider communities”. Closing with a message of hope and positivity, the company remains “full of joy, compassion and kindness”, and will go forward rehearsing “with generosity and love, and focus[ing] on the creation of [their] production”.
The statement was released following online abuse directed towards co-lead Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, who was recently revealed to be playing the role of Juliet Capulet in the upcoming production, set to open in May. Comments on the actress’ posts on her personal Instagram account have been limited following the abuse, but many of the comments are still visible, with hundreds of likes apiece, attacking the actress based upon her ethnicity and appearance.
Comments on an image released on Amewudah-Rivers’ personal account featuring an image of her and Tom Holland in the show’s publicity style included a range of derogatory remarks, including one user commenting “The world is not racist, but it is the worst casting ever for Juliet”. This comment is the most-liked on the post, even above those from influencers congratulating her on her casting, with over 850 likes. Other top comments on the post include “and this is juliette?”, followed by a monkey emoji and three nauseated face emojis, “Romeo and Moustache hahahaha” and “But the character is white”.
The production is set to open next month, starring Marvel Cinematic Universe actor Tom Holland as Romeo Montague and Heartstopper actor Nima Taleghani as Benvolio, alongside Amewudah-Rivers and is set for a twelve-week run at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London’s West End. The production, directed by Jamie Lloyd, also includes Freema Agyeman as Nurse, Ray Sesay as Tybalt and Callum Heinrich as the Camera Operator, with this production set to mirror some of the award-winning cinematography that characterised the recent revival of Sunset Boulevard, which has an upcoming Broadway transfer set to open later this year. Tickets for the West End run have already sold out, with hopeful audience members encouraged to sign up to email notifications for updates.
This latest racism incident comes just weeks after a national debate arose following the announcement of ‘Black-Out’ nights for the West End transfer of Slave Play, which even drew the criticism of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The nights, of which there were two planned in the show’s thirteen-week run, are designed to encourage non-white audiences to enjoy the production with those who may have similar experiences to each other as a result of ethnicity, although crucially, no one would be turned away from these performances, regardless of skin colour.
With a run of only twelve weeks, this latest incident has already overshadowed what should be an exciting period of anticipation before the show is set to open, with cast members having to contend with this in addition to their rehearsal period. Both the show and overall production company are standing firmly behind their casting and cast members, in what can only be described as a shameful and undoubtedly stressful period for all those involved.
Romeo & Juliet will be playing at the Duke of York’s Theatre from May 11th until August 3rd
