Francesca Amewudah-Rivers was cast as Juliet Capulet in the upcoming West End production of Romeo & Juliet. She is sharing the stage with Marvel Cinematic Universe action star Tom Holland, who is playing Romeo Montague. Despite the excitement surrounding their casting, Francesca has faced an onslaught of racist comments over the Jamie Lloyd Company’s choice in selecting a Black actress to portray Juliet.
Learn more about Francesca and her background as an artist below.
According to her IMDb profile, Francesca’s screen credits go back to 2012 when she starred in several episodes of the TV series Bad Education.
In addition to being an actress, Francesca is also a composer and a writer. She composed the short films Medea, Minutes and Messenger.
In early 2024, Francesca and Tom were announced to lead the West End production of Romeo & Juliet. This is her West End debut. Although the news was exciting for all theatergoers, racist commenters inundated her with abusive messages on social media. In response to the racism, the Jamie Lloyd Company condemned the hate speech toward their lead actress in a statement.
“This must stop,” the company said in its statement. “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.”
The production is scheduled to run from May 11 through August 3.
Francesca Amewudah-Rivers has been chosen to play Juliet in the upcoming play Romeo & Juliet in the West End. She will be acting alongside Tom Holland, known for his roles in the Marvel movies. Sadly, Francesca has been getting a lot of racist comments because she is a Black actress playing Juliet.
Francesca has been acting since 2012, starting with the TV series Bad Education. Apart from acting, she is also a composer and writer, having worked on short films like Medea, Minutes, and Messenger.
The play Romeo & Juliet, where Francesca will star alongside Tom, is set to debut in the West End in early 2024. The producers have spoken out against the racist comments aimed at Francesca, stating that such hate speech will not be tolerated.
The production is set to run from May 11 to August 3.
