Tom Holland greets cheering crowds from theatre balcony after first Romeo & Juliet performance

Tom Holland waved to crowds gathered outside the Duke of York’s Theatre in London on Monday (13 May) following the first preview of Jamie Lloyd’s Romeo & Juliet production.

Holland stars as the romantic lead in Shakespeare’s classic romance opposite Francesca Amewudah-Rivers as Juliet.

Shortly after the performance concluded, Holland and his co-stars were filmed walking out onto the theatre’s balcony where large crowds were gathered outside to see the Spider-Man actor.

Amewudah-Rivers was seen whispering in Holland’s ear, after which he yelled out to the crowd: “Thank you so much! We love you all!”

Previews of the show were scheduled to open on Saturday; however, they were delayed “due to the technical aspects of the production needing further preparation”, a press representative stated.

Holland has been urged to speak out in support of his co-star following the torrent of racist abuse she received after her casting was announced in February.

Amewudah-Rivers is best known for playing Blessing in the Jack Whitehall comedy TV series Bad Education. She also played Gifty in Jocelyn Bioh’s play School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play at the Lyric Hammersmith theatre last year.

Last month, more than 800 Black female and non-binary actors, including Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim and Marianne Jean-Baptiste, signed an open letter in solidarity with Amewudah-Rivers.

“The racist and misogynistic abuse directed at such a sweet soul has been too much to bear,” it read.

“For a casting announcement of a play to ignite such twisted ugly abuse is truly embarrassing for those so empty and barren in their own lives that they must meddle in hateful abuse.”

The letter followed a statement issued by the Jamie Lloyd theatre company condemning the “barrage of deplorable racial abuse”.

Director Lloyd called Amewudah-Rivers “an exceptional young artist”.

Before his Marvel role, Holland got his break on stage playing the title role in Billy Elliot: The Musical at Victoria Palace Theatre.

The 27-year-old actor went on to appear as Peter Parker in several Marvel Cinematic Universe films, including his own trilogy: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).

While the MCU’s fourth Spider-Man film has been confirmed, Holland has expressed concerns over the project’s plotline.

“Until we’ve cracked it, we have a legacy to protect,” he said. “The third movie was so special in so many ways that we need to make sure we do the right thing.”

Romeo & Juliet opens at the Duke of York’s Theatre on 23 May and runs until 3 August.