Hello? Excuse me? Tom Holland? You mean, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Tom Holland? Zendaya’s Tom Holland? He’s in a new production being described as “pulsating?” And the subject matter in question is a certain well known, iconic romance?? OKAY! You have my attention!
The Jamie Lloyd Company is bringing Holland to London’s West End to perform Romeo & Juliet in a “pulsating new vision of Shakespeare’s immortal tale of wordsmiths, rhymers, lovers and fighters,” Variety reports. No word yet on who will take on Juliet, simply that Holland will play the opposite role.
Tom Holland in Romeo & Juliet?!
The play, which will show at Duke of York’s Theatre, will run for 12 weeks. Tickets start on February 13, with the run opening on May 2024. Promotional imagery for the production shows Holland in dark, crimson red, and the work has the tagline “violent delights have violent ends.” Given Romeo & Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s greatest and most beloved tragedies of all time, I’m expecting director Jamie Lloyd’s take on the play to emphasize the drama, despair, and disaster of the original.
In other words, bring tissues, and get ready to gasp. If you’ve never seen the original play, it’s truly a hard watch.
As for “pulsating?” Hmm. What an interesting word choice. Immediately, I’m reminded of Tom Hiddleston in Coriolanus on the National Theatre. Certainly a lesser known Shakespeare play, but arguably one of the most relevant in today’s time. For those of you on Tumblr and TikTok, this is the very same production where Hiddleston as Coriolanus is kissed by his rival, sharing a homoerotic embrace that certainly turned many AO3 fangirls’ heads back in the day.
I’m not sure if we’ll get something equally as interesting from Lloyd and Holland in Romeo & Juliet. Nonetheless, I’m curious to hear more. Zendaya as Juliet?
(feature image: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/GettyImages)
