Plans to reenact William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, this time set in World War II, have come to a screeching halt after the Jewish community protested the play's intent to make one of the main characters a Nazi, said a report published Tuesday.
According to The Jewish News weekly, A London-based theatre production company, called "Icarus Theatre Collective," had plans to reenact the play, but make Juliet Capulet a Jewish girl who falls in love with Romeo Montague, a member of the Nazi youth.
When the casting call was originally made on social media, there was no mention of these specific alterations to the story, said the report.
Once the details emerged, however, outrage was sparked by the suggestion that both characters were on equal footing, despite the theatre's insistence that it was not the case, and that it is "understood" that the story underwent radical changes to demonstrate the immense social disparity between the families.
One critic said: "Using the Holocaust as framing for ‘the most hopeful of love stories’ dismisses every single bit of history of systematic murder and inhumanity."
Icarus have claimed they've conducted consultations with Jewish leaders in the community prior to altering the play and that they were in "the process" of engaging Jewish organizations about the issue.
Additionally, they've said they had every intention of casting Jewish actors and were appalled to discover these details were not mentioned on the casting call posted on social media..
Max Lewendel, the company's artistic director, has said: “We accept that we got this wrong and made Jewish artists feel excluded. We are sorry for the pain this has caused."
Lewendel's father was a Hidden Child during the Holocaust, while his grandmother was murdered by the Nazis, according to The Jewish News.
The production company tweeted: "Our intention is to portray Montagues as the bad guys & kids brainwashed as per Jojo Rabbit. Particularly as a criticism of the current political situation. Our initial casting breakdown mentioned performers of Jewish background are preferred for the Capulets, as it is fundamental to have representation on the team more than just the director. Please accept our profound apologies."