The company putting on a production of Romeo and Juliet on the West End has condemned the online racial hatred which came after they announced their casting.
They revealed that Tom Holland and the black actress Francesca Amewudah-Rivers would star as the famous Shakespeare characters towards the end of last month.
This triggered multiple racist comments on the Jamie Lloyd Company’s social media posts, with many saying that Juliet should be white.
But the Company issued a statement on Friday, slamming what it called a “barrage of deplorable racial abuse online”.
They said: “This must stop. 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.
“Our rehearsal room is full of joy, compassion and kindness. We celebrate the extraordinary talent of our incredible collaborators.
“The Romeo and Juliet community will continue to rehearse with generosity and love, and focus on the creation of our production.”
Romeo and Juliet opens at the Duke of York’s Theatre on May 23 until August 3.
Ms Amewudah-Rivers previously acted in two seasons of the BBC series Bad Education and three short films, along with several other stage productions.
She said at the time of the casting announcement: “I’m so grateful to be making my West End debut as Juliet with The Jamie Lloyd Company.
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“It’s a dream to be joining this team of incredible artists with Jamie at the helm. I’m excited to bring a fresh energy to this story alongside Tom, and to welcome new audiences to the theatre.”
Holland said: “Beyond excited to announce our cast for Romeo and Juliet. I can’t wait to get started and I know we’ll create something really special together.”
