As you may already know, Tom Holland announced that he would leave the world of cinema momentarily to return to his theatrical origins and star in a new version of Romeo and Juliet in London, however, the news was (sadly) overshadowed by the casting choice of Juliet: Francesca Amewudah-Rivers as co-star, after Zendaya invited her to take her place.
The play in question is already underway, and will be from May 11 to August 3 that can be seen at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London, and is in charge of the British director, Jamie Lloyd and his theater company.
Zendaya was set to play Juliet in the play starring Tom Holland and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers
However, an interesting rumor has emerged regarding the cast that was originally going to star in this classic Shakespeare play, and that is that yes, Tom Holland was intended to be Romeo in the staging, but Juliet was going to be a completely different actress.
According to the information that has circulated through the internet, it was going to be Zendaya who would star in this new version of Romeo and Juliet with her boyfriend, Tom Holland, however, due to the actress’ busy schedule, this was not going to be possible.
And even more, it is said that it was Zendaya herself who proposed Francesca Amewudah-Rivers as the actress who would take her place in the play, making her great debut on stage and in the world of theater.
Although little is known about Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, there are some important facts about her artistic life: she is a 26-year-old British actress who trained as a dramatic actress at the National Youth Theatre, as well as studying music at the University of Oxford.
The reason for her choice comes from her great experience as a theater actress, and is that she has been in other Shakespeare plays such as Othello, MacBeth and even the Greek tragedy of Antigone, by Sophocles. Likewise, thanks to her studies in music, she also works on the piano through the jazz genre.
The actress has been facing racism online
Sadly, the internet world has not reacted positively to her casting as Juliet in this play, and she has received millions of criticisms for her physique. The play’s director, Jamie Lloyd, has called these comments ‘racial abuse’, and nearly 800 actors and actresses of colour have joined in, defending her against the negative comments she has received for being herself.
Much of the problem that has arisen in the world of the internet is that the physique of the leading actress has been highly criticized by the public, who have defended their opinion with a classic “it’s not racism, but…”, and argue that the characteristics described in the classic work are different, and even allude to the so-called ‘forced inclusion’ as a movement that should not happen, and even that they should ‘respect the source material’.
However, despite that, two very necessary things must be pointed out: first of all, this is an adaptation that comes from the mind of a director prepared to tackle the play. And, what really matters: there are people who are not yet ready to accept bodies other than the hegemonic ones with which we have systematically grown up all our lives.
Would Zendaya have received the same insults that Francesca receives? Possibly not, because he hasn’t received them in the previous jobs he’s been a part of, which tells us that there are many more people in the world who are not yet ready to live in a progressive world that most people would like to get to.
Despite everything, the play has been a success, however, this is a huge step to take in societies around the world to make an exercise in self-criticism and ask ourselves why it is that in 2024 there is still racism.
This article was written in Spanish by Alan Cruz in Cultura Colectiva