Director Jamie Lloyd’s production of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet starring the Spider-Man actor and Francesca Amewudah-Rivers in the titular roles was due to begin previews Saturday night at London’s Duke of York’s theatre, but ticket holders have been informed that the show “cannot go ahead as planned,” Deadline reports.
According to the report by Deadline, the reason given was “due to the technical aspects of the production needing further preparation, the performance of Romeo & Juliet on Saturday, 11 May 2024 can not go ahead as planned.”
According to insiders, there have been frantic scenes during rehearsals this week as Lloyd and his creative team attempted to fix what it was that required “further preparation.”
However, apparently, on Thursday a decision was made to halt Saturday night’s preview.
It’s not yet known whether the show now will preview on Monday or Tuesday. The official first night premiere is set, at least for now, for May 23.
Those with tickets for tonight have been sent a special link to exchange their tickets for a future performance. The producers acknowledge, however, that there’s “limited availability.” The sold-out run might have to extend the limited season to accommodate those who have shelled out to see the romantic tragedy on Saturday. And if the problem is not resolved by next week then that’s gonna be a big Bard headache.