Poster from now-cancelled production. (\u00a9Icarus Theatre Collective)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Icarus Theatre Collective, the group behind the play, put out a casting call on Friday for their \u201cRomeo and Juliet\u201d over email and on social media, specifically calling for \u201cnon-binary artists, and\/or those of global majority, black or Asian heritage\u201d to audition for the reimagined roles of Romeo and Mercutio, as well as a female-presenting actor to play the traditionally male character of Tybalt.<\/p>\n
But for the role of Juliet, the Jewish counterpart to Romeo\u2019s character in the Hitler Youth, the Icarus Theatre Collective did not include a specific request for Jewish actors to audition as part of the casting call. In an era of increased scrutiny over the casting of Jewish actors to play Jewish characters, the omission drew criticism.<\/p>\n
Speaking with the Jewish Chronicle, Max Lewendel, the Jewish founder of the Icarus Theatre Collective and director of \u201cRomeo and Juliet,\u201d said the initial casting call specified that Juliet Capulet and her parents be played by actors with \u201cpreferably Jewish heritage.\u201d Lewendel said the final draft of the casting call was put out by the casting director and should have included a preference for Jewish actors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is absolutely not what was intended, and apologies to anyone that was understandably affected by this,\u201d Lewendel told the Jewish Chronicle.<\/p>\n
In an apology tweet on Monday, the Icarus Theatre Collective wrote, \u201cThese are NOT two households both alike in dignity,\u201d referring to lines from the prologue of \u201cRomeo and Juliet,\u201d which the group says it had cut from their version of the play because it put the Nazi Montagues and the Jewish Capulets on equal footing.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease understand our intention in Romeo & Juliet is to portray the Montagues as the bad guys and the kids brainwashed as per Jojo Rabbit,\u201d the thread continued, referencing the 2019 comedy-drama film about a boy in the Hitler Youth. \u201cParticularly as a criticism of the current political situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
https:\/\/twitter.com\/icarustheatre\/status\/1587077367058530304?s=20&t=N5m3XKJ-EpxTxROzVwQ3Fw<\/p>\n
The group also wrote that part of its research and development process \u201chas always been to include members of the Jewish community to presentations, as we recognise that the director\u2019s background is not sufficient to ensure proper presentation of this dangerous concept: These are NOT two housholds [sic] both alike in dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Campaign Against Antisemitism, a British watchdog group, publicly criticized the play. In a tweet, the group said, \u201cIt is staggering that anyone would find this play about morally-equivalent feuding families to be an appropriate way to explore Nuremberg-era persecution of Jews by Nazi Germany.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the increasing fascism in the world today that has kind of become a trend in my work,\u201d Lewendel told the Jewish Chronicle about his decision to situate the play during the Holocaust.<\/p>\n
Public response to the premise of the play itself has been mostly negative.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a monumentally terrible idea,\u201d one user wrote on Twitter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis new Romeo and Juliet nazi idea feels so genuinely like a 30 Rock Episode that I simply have to laugh at the absurdity!\u201d another person wrote.<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s official description of the play reads: \u201cIn defiance of their entire society and in secrecy from their closest friends, hopeful young lives burn amidst a cataclysmic backdrop of impending war and the horror of the Holocaust. Sun and moon shine down on star-crossed lovers as a Jewish girl falls for a member of (Hitler) Youth and the boy questions everything he was taught to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The show was scheduled to run in March 2023.<\/p>\n
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