To Be or Not to Be?: The Lloyd Company’s New Production of Romeo & Juliet
To be or not to be, that is the question. As of late, the question of whether Jamie Lloyd’s “pulsating new vision of Shakespeare’s immortal tale of wordsmiths, rhymers, lovers, and fighters” will live up to its potential.
The current cast ranks with stellar stars and newcomers ready to create a name for themselves on the silver screen. Starring Tom Holland as Romeo and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers as Juliet, the production begins with the groundbreaking act of defying the original Shakespearean play with an interracial relationship.
Though interracial love and romance are not foreign concepts in the world, as of late, interracial relationships in films and media have become prominent. The casting of Holland and Amewudah-Rivers as opposing ends in both legion and race has created a wave of uproar on social media. Several users, accounts, pages, and posts have expressed disinterest and outright racist rhetoric towards the casting of the characters, specifically of Amewudah-Rivers as Juliet.
romeo + juliet thoughts so far: the cast is killing it. the production is INSANE I’ve never seen anything like it. it is a nondescript modern telling with original shakespearean script. lots of laughs and lots of kissing. tom holland and francesca amewudah-rivers are unbelievable— Danielle (@ellabelladani) May 13, 2024
Comments targeting Amewudah-Rivers’ race as a lack of authenticity to the original Shakperean play, which entails Juliet typically as a Caucasian young girl. Using the term “Black washing” is the practice of replacing a traditionally white character or role with a Black actor as an excuse for personal prejudices and discriminatory words and thoughts.
With the outrage so spectacular the social media pages of the upcoming rendition of the Shakespearean play, @RomeoJulietLDN released a public statement across its platforms to address and reject the current prejudice against the actress and stand in support of her. “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…We will continue to support and protect everyone in our company at all costs. Any abuse will not be tolerated and will be reported.”
The cast follows, Tomiwa Edun as Capulet and Mia Jerome as the rival Montague. Ray Sesay will portray Tybalt, the devoting cousin of Juliet, and Nima Taleghani, the merciful cousin of Romeo, will act beside Holland and Amewudah-Rivers in the current reenvision of the iconic Shakespearean play.
Over 800 stars from near and far have given her utmost support during the salacious backlash concerning her primary roles, such as Susan Wokoma from Enola Holmes, as well as Crowning Glory playwright Somalia Nonyé Seaton. Among her castmates, she received additional support from renowned Black actors in the form of a letter, with many of the remarks encouraging Amewudah-Rivers forward and expressing pride and gratitude towards Amewudah-Rivers’ remarkable achievement of securing a job on her own.
The open letter remarks, “Every tongue that rises against you will fall, And to the keyboard warriors who feel discomfort in Our visibility, cry on the internet all you want, but We are here to stay.”
Lloyd’s revision of Romeo and Juliet has opened within the United Kingdom, showcasing its production on May 13 this year, and is set to run for 12 weeks at the Duke of York’s Theatre. The production is completely sold out until its final showing on August 3.
