A West End production of William Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet has been the victim of “deplorable racial abuse” online after it announced a person of colour was cast in one of the titular roles. In response to the online abuse, the theatre company behind the production made a statement saying the comments “must stop”.
Last week the Jamie Lloyd Company announced the full cast for its take on the iconic star-crossed-lovers tale, which included Tom Holland as Romeo, and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers as Juliet. Shhhh, nobody tell Zendaya.
In response to what seemed to be a pretty normal casting announcement, various people on the internet erupted into a temper tantrum over the fact that a woman of colour would be playing Juliet in the stage show.
In posts to X (formerly Twitter), people began sharing their outrage at the “woke” casting, and how “forced representation is annoying”.
One post shared a side-by-side photo of the 1996 film adaptation Romeo+Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes next to Holland and Amewudah-Rivers, and made the argument that the Jamie Lloyd company was “rewriting history”.
Romeo & Juliet movie then vs. now.
— iamyesyouareno (@iamyesyouareno) April 2, 2024
They are rewriting history in front of our very eyes. pic.twitter.com/UIDC2eSx8A
Poor bloke doesn’t know that Romeo and Juliet isn’t history. It’s just an old play bro, that shit didn’t actually happen.
Comments on the above Tweet also called out the ridiculous comparison, considering that Baz Luhrmann’s version of the story was anything but historically accurate. Ya know, ‘cos of the guns and all that?
“The new romeo & juliet is woke! The 90s romeo & juliet was based!”
— ᴛʜᴇ ɢʟᴏᴄᴋ ɴᴇꜱꜱ ᴍᴏʙꜱᴛᴇʀ (@The_S_O_B) April 4, 2024
The 90s romeo & juliet: pic.twitter.com/VuSzDRhNOV
In response to the racially-charged criticism of its casting, the Jamie Lloyd Company released a statement to its social pages on Friday that called out the “barrage of deplorable racist abuse online” directed at its cast.
“This must stop,” the statement said.
“We are working with a remarkable group of artists. We insist that they are free to create work without facing online harassment.
“We will 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.”
FFS, I can’t believe it’s 2024 and we’re still doing this thing where actors and creators will cop abuse online when a company casts a person of colour in a role.
Seriously, it’s the live-action Little Mermaid with Halle Bailey all over again. When will people stop trying to start culture wars over this shit?
The stage production of Romeo and Juliet starring Holland and Amewudah-Rivers will premier at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London on May 11, and will continue playing until August 3.
