ENGLISH actor Tom Holland is delighted with the debut performance of his new play. The 27-year-old actor, best known for portraying Marvel’s iconic superhero Spider-Man, shared a photo on Instagram recently, posing with his Romeo & Juliet co-star Francesca Amewudah-Rivers and the cast and crew. The post followed the London-based production’s first preview performance.
The picture carried the caption: “Tonight was the start of something so special. I’m beyond proud of our cast and crew who have gone above and beyond in every way. I can’t wait for the rest of the run. Tonight was truly a highlight of my career and I’m so glad I get to share it with these incredible people. Love you all and see you tomorrow!”
Holland previously shared another image of himself onstage with co-stars Amewudah-Rivers and Michael Balogun, who is credited with playing the Friar in the production. “But, soft! What light... it’s preview night,” said the actor, referencing one of Romeo’s famous lines from William Shakespeare’s play.
Holland declared his return to the stage in London for a limited run of Romeo & Juliet. Long before attaining fame as Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Spider-Man star debuted in a West End production of Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008. He began his acting career at the age of 12.
A month prior to the premiere, over 800 actors, including co-star Amewudah-Rivers alongside Holland in the role of Juliet, endorsed an open letter denouncing racist backlash.
Following the release of the complete cast list on April 5, the producing company, The Jamie Lloyd Company, issued a statement condemning “deplorable racial abuse directed online at a member of our company.”
“This must stop. We are working with a remarkable group of artists. We insist that they are free to create work without facing online harassment,” said the statement, which did not name Amewudah-Rivers.
