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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.

Francesca Amewudah-Rivers Is an Actress

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.

She Is Also a Composer and a Writer

In addition to being an actress, Francesca is also a composer and a writer. She composed the short films Medea, Minutes and Messenger.

Francesca Is Playing Juliet With Tom Holland

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.

She Attended Oxford University

Francesca attended Oxford University, where she studied music, according to The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities’ website.

Francesca Won an Award for Audio Design

Thanks to her hard work in theatre, Francesca was awarded the 2021 Evening Standard Future Theatre Award for Audio Design. Additionally, she trained as an artist with the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and worked with multiple theatre companies, including Shakespeare’s Globe, Roundhouse and more.