Dear Curtis Brown, JLC and Duke of York,

We are a community of artists writing to implore you to show greater protection and advocacy for Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, your Juliet in the recently announced ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at the Duke of York Theatre.

Since the announcement, there has been a torrent of racially abusive and misogynistic diatribes that Francesca has been subjected to. You removed comments off of your collaborative post and, after a whole week of this vitriol, published a statement. In this statement you have promised that you will "continue to support and protect [your] company at all costs."

The psychological distress and emotional unease that comes from being on the receiving end of such pernicious and destabilising remarks is not to be underestimated. All of this, whilst also having the usual pressures and exposures tantamount to playing a leading role. What exactly then do you have in place to safeguard Francesca's wellbeing and security? It is at times like these where you must show true respect to your cast by considering and enacting the ways in which you could provide the necessary support. 

You have cast - presumably with intention - a predominantly global majority company for this show. It befalls you then to be aware of the implications of this, especially when staging Shakespeare, as bigots will often lampoon casting choices that don’t resemble whatever antiquated image they have in mind for these fictional characters. This casting alone is not the marker of inclusivity and progressiveness, nor is it allyship. In fact, casting that does not display awareness of the experiences of its cast is ultimately performative, and performative allyship is ultimately dangerous. 

Neither Instagram nor Twitter have done anything to censor these hateful comments and it appears to be Francesca that has single-handedly borne the brunt of these attacks. What then may happen once the show is up and the fanbase has a locus around which to operate? All too often do we see these forms of hate speech escalate into physical violence. 

That being said, we believe it is your duty of care to be explicit in showing ongoing solidarity and effective activity to stave off this heinous racist bullying and harassment, not only for Francesca but for your entire company as is your responsibility, according to policies in alignment with Employment Law. We need more than lip-service and optics, we need action.

• What security will you put in place for Francesca to and from the rehearsals and the theatre?
• What security will you put in place for the cast during the run to vet the audience members and their belongings?
• What therapy can you offer Francesca and the cast during rehearsals, the run and beyond?
• What support can you offer Francesca in the room with line learning and other aspects of the work, considering how disorienting this racist harassment must be for her?
• Have you employed people that reflect the cast, particularly dark-skinned black people, behind the scenes?
• Considering the illegality of what Francesca is experiencing, how will you deal with comments and in-person fans that continue to champion hatred?
• How can you ensure the cast feel seen, celebrated and supported during the run by audiences of global majority? For example with 'BLACK OUT NIGHTS'?
• What public solidarity can you request from the white members of your cast?

Again, we reiterate that the severity of what has been happening to Francesca is not to be minimised.

We have noticed that news outlets that have covered this story have focused predominantly on your statement, rather than the oversight of rampant racism in our industry and society, and most importantly, how this abuse might be affecting the recipient of it. This speaks to the frequent undermining and erasure of the all too common experiences of dark-skinned black womxn in our world today. To use your phrasing, this must stop.

We look forward to seeing you be proactive about this.