Look, we all know why we’re here. It’s what Jamie Lloyd does: takes a classic play, strips away a load of stuff, and puts a massive star at the centre of it to sell all the tickets and sort of trick teenagers into watching Ibsen or Pinter or Shakespeare. It’s the same deal here, with someone of supernova quality: Tom Holland – aka Spiderman himself – returning to the London stage for the first time since playing Billy Elliott in 2008.
Except, this time, early announcements about the feverishly anticipated production were overshadowed by an online campaign of abuse against Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, the young actor cast as Juliet. What an utter cesspit the world seems sometimes. The torrent from these brainless racists led to an open letter of solidarity signed by more than 800 Black creatives, and a statement from Lloyd’s company condemning the abuse. This all happened before the play had opened – before anyone had a chance to see what it’s actually like.
