{"id":73943,"date":"2025-08-17T20:00:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-17T20:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/73943\/"},"modified":"2025-08-17T20:00:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-17T20:00:11","slug":"west-ends-hunchback-of-notre-dame-in-row-over-casting-a-non-disabled-actor-as-quasimodo-but-others-insist-didnt-it-used-to-be-called-acting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/73943\/","title":{"rendered":"West End’s Hunchback of Notre Dame in row over casting a non-disabled actor as Quasimodo – but others insist: ‘Didn’t it used to be called acting?’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A West End production of Hunchback of Notre Dame has faced criticism over its decision to cast a non-disabled actor as its lead.<\/p>\n

Jack Maple Productions came under fire after critics claimed\u00a0that casting an actor without a physical impairment as the lead role of Quasimodo was an example of ‘ableism’.<\/p>\n

Equity, the performing arts trade union, states that its policy is to ‘support the casting of a deaf or disabled artist in deaf or disabled character roles,’ and that ‘the\u00a0decision not to cast a physically disabled actor’ goes against its principles.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The show will be held at the\u00a0Prince Edward<\/a>\u00a0Theatre in London’s West End and the\u00a0role of\u00a0Quasimodo will be shared by Ben Joyce and Oliver Hewing, who is deaf and will be providing a British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation of the performance.<\/p>\n

In the original production, Quasimodo is portrayed as having a severe hunchback, along with being partially blind and described as\u00a0deaf.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Equity states that while ‘the production explores the character’s deaf identity’, it claims that the character’s hunchback is\u00a0‘intrinsic to the story’.<\/p>\n

Natalie Amber, Chair of Equity’s Deaf and Disabled Members Committee, said in a statement online:\u00a0‘To highlight one facet while overlooking another erases the lived experience of people with physical impairments and is an example of ableism.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘While we welcome the inclusion of BSL interpreters, neurodivergent, and Romani performers, it is important to recognise that diversity is not a trade-off. Representation of one marginalised group does not excuse the erasure of another.’<\/p>\n

\"Two <\/p>\n

Two actors will play the role of\u00a0Quasimodo, and one of them is seasoned performer Ben Joyce<\/p>\n

The union said that the casting of the role ’caused concern’ and raised ‘many questions’ from some\u00a0of its 50,000 performers and creative practitioners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Equity said that there must be a ‘fair and accessible’ audition process which is paired with ‘targeted outreach to those artists who have lived experience of the specific disability, impairment, health condition or similar, being portrayed.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

The union stated that ‘it is aware that individuals with disabilities are involved in the production, and that BSL will be incorporated into one performance’.<\/p>\n

However, it said these facts ‘side-step the real and significant issue of casting a non-physically disabled performer in the role of a physically disabled character’.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When posting the statement on X, the Equity received a mixed reaction, with one person writing: ‘Acting is just pretending to be someone you are not.’<\/p>\n

Another penned: ‘Didn’t it used to be called acting?’ A third said: ‘I am disabled – if you likened me to\u00a0Quasimodo because of it, I would be furious.’\u00a0<\/p>\n

A fourth commented: ‘So disabled people can only play hunchbacks? This is the line you’re going with?’\u00a0<\/p>\n

Standard tickets for The Hunchback of Notre Dame are selling upwards of \u00a330 and performances are set to take place on 17 August at 3pm and 7.30pm, with a BSL interpreted show set to be held on 24 August at 6pm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"In <\/p>\n

In the original production, Quasimodo is portrayed as having a severe hunchback, along with being partially blind and described as deaf. Pictured,\u00a0Gina Lollobrigida and Anthony Quinn in the 1956 film version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame<\/p>\n

\"Oliver <\/p>\n

Oliver Hewing, who is deaf and will be providing a British Sign Language (BSL) interpretation of the performance, will also play Quasimodo<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"When <\/p>\n

When posting the statement on X, the Equity received a mixed reaction, with some comments seen above\u00a0<\/p>\n

Equity says it has been having ‘positive engagement’ with Jack Maple Productions ahead of the opening performance,\u00a0in which they have highlighted the ‘structural discrimination faced by disabled artists’.<\/p>\n

Jack Maple Productions and the actors starring as Quasimodo were approached for comment by the Daily Mail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This comes after Shakespeare’s The Globe Theatre was embroiled in an ableism row in January 2024 after a non-disabled actor was cast as Richard III who is believed to have suffered from scoliosis.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was announced that the Olivier Award-winning actress and Artistic Director at The Globe, Michelle Terry, would play the titular role in the Globe’s summer production.<\/p>\n

Richard III, Shakespeare’s ‘bunch-backed’ scheming King describes himself as ‘deformed, unfinish’d’ and the decision to cast an able-bodied actress\u00a0 received a torrent of backlash.<\/p>\n

Brittanie Pallet, a professionally trained disabled performer, wrote on X: ‘Why is an artistic director of any theatre hiring themselves to play the lead when it’s not their casting or lived experience?<\/p>\n

‘The misrepresentation and misinformation causes actual daily harm to the lives of real disabled people.’<\/p>\n

She continued: ‘The work we make is, in varying degrees, a reflection of our society and our beliefs about the people we share the world with.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Standard <\/p>\n

Standard tickets for The Hunchback of Notre Dame are selling upwards of \u00a330 and there are three performances\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘Most people’s only experience of disabled life is through the stories we tell so it’s bloody dangerous when we get that wrong.’<\/p>\n

The Globe issued a statement in response to the backlash and said: ‘We recognise the barriers to access in our industry and to our organisation and we are working hard to address that.<\/p>\n

‘We believe the Shakespearean canon is based on a foundation of anti-literalism and therefore all artists should have the right to play all parts in, and the casting across all our work year-round is no different.’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A West End production of Hunchback of Notre Dame has faced criticism over its decision to cast a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":73944,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[97,96,519,59,388,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-73943","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-femail","11":"tag-gb","12":"tag-london","13":"tag-uk","14":"tag-united-kingdom","15":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73943","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73943"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73943\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}