Initial casting has been announced for a new version of Romeo and Juliet, scored with rap and R&B, which will open in Coventry in February 2025.
Mia Khan will play Juliet. After graduating from Central School of Speech and Drama in 2023, she understudied the role of Linda Marsh in Sam Mendes’s The Motive and the Cue by Jack Thorne at the National Theatre.
Kyle Ndukuba graduated from LAMDA in 2024 and will make his professional debut as Romeo. Full casting will be announced later.
Romeo and Juliet will be directed by Coventry Belgrade Theatre’s creative director Corey Campbell. It will be a co-production with Bristol Old Vic and Hackney Empire in collaboration with Midlands artists That’s A Rap (lyrics) and A Class (music). Set and costume design will be by Simon Kenny.
Campbell said, “Mia and Kyle represent the best and brightest of fresh new UK acting talent and I’m really excited by both of them. I know they’ve both had some great experiences out of the gate, working with some of the greatest directors from around the world, and I’m really looking forward to diving deep into this classic with them and the whole company.
“I was so impressed by both of them in their initial auditions and then I was doubly impressed by the chemistry between them—they feel like two sharp, instinctual and intuitive performers.”
Romeo and Juliet will open at the Belgrade Theatre from Friday 21 February until Saturday 8 March 2025, with a national press night on Wednesday 26 February. It will transfer to Bristol Old Vic from Wednesday 12 March until Saturday 5 April and Hackney Empire from Wednesday 23 until Saturday 26 April.