Joining director Jamie Lloyd’s musical, actress Francesca Amewudah-Rivers plays Juliet opposite Tom Holland.

The Jamie Lloyd theatre company’s announcement that it has cast young star Francesca Amewudah-Rivers as Juliet , opposite Tom Holland , is causing a stir. 

Poster for the musical starring Tom Holland (right) and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers.

Fandomwire reported that immediately after the cast was introduced, a heated debate about the female lead role took place on social networking forums. 

Francesca Amewudah-Rivers is a young British actress of African descent. She is best known for her role as Blessing in the BBC series Bad Education . Many people have criticized the production, saying that they are ruining Shakespeare’s original play by casting a black actor to play Juliet.

Francesca Amewudah-Rivers is considered a potential young British actress.

The original is set in Italy, in which Juliet is the daughter of the Capulet family, a northerner. “Regardless of whether the actors are beautiful or ugly, at least respect the historical setting”, “There are clearly many beautiful black actors. What are they trying to prove?” … the audience commented.

On the contrary, many opinions say that when bringing classic works to the stage, people will be more interested in novelty than racial factors.

Despite the backlash, director Jamie Lloyd said he was excited about the project. ” I’m really excited to be able to introduce the cast that will join Tom Holland, especially Francesca Amewudah-Rivers – an extremely talented young star .”

Meanwhile, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers told Deadline : “I am grateful to be making my West End debut as Juliet. It is a dream to join such an incredible cast, under Jamie’s direction. I am delighted to bring a new energy to the show with Tom and welcome new audiences to the theatre.”

The US Sun reports that Francesca Amewudah-Rivers is a British writer, composer and actress. She has a BA in music from the University of Oxford and studied at the UK’s National Youth Theatre.

She has worked with Shakespeare’s Globe, Actors Touring Company, National Theatre… In 2022, she co-wrote the short film Medea and composed the film’s soundtrack. The actress gained more attention for her role in the sitcom Bad Education.