Race-blind, gender-blind, disability-blind casting. All have become increasingly commonplace in theater and don’t normally merit comment. Conscious casting of minorities is another matter. I find it an increasingly interesting choice since it demands that we pay attention to, rather than ignore, the race or gender or disability of an actor. It brings the unexpected to the fore and make us rethink our initial ideas about a work.
Miranda Cromwell and Marianne Elliott’s reimagining of Death of a Salesman as the story of a Black family is perhaps the most prominent and exciting recent example. A recent production of Oliver Twist (now available to stream on NT at Home) also shows how powerful conscious casting can be. This new adaptation of the familiar story was developed by Leeds Playhouse in conjunction with Ramps on the Moon, a collaborative group whose stated aim is “to enrich the stories we tell and the way we tell them by normalising the presence of deaf and disabled people both on and off stage.”
