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The Quasimodo casting controversy | On disability representation and the Hunchback of Notre Dame
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Mickey Jo
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Mickey Jo
As I sit down to have this particular conversation, I'm experiencing an emotion that I don't often feel when I I do these, and that is apprehension. As someone who is external to this situation in every possible sense, I am not involved in the production of the Hunchback of Notre Dame in concert. I'm also not a member of the disabled community. I am engaging with this only because I occupy a lot of space here on social media, particularly on YouTube where I am one of only a few theater themed content creators and having been really disappointed and a little shocked by so many of the responses that I've seen to this on social media, particularly after Equity made a statement and seeing all of the heinous quote tweets around that and the notion that, you know, it's just acting and none of this matters whatsoever, but also simultaneously feeling saddened by criticism leveled against these three concert performances. The intensity of which I think has perhaps grown disproportionate. My greatest desire here is to create space for meaningful conversation, for empathy, and as I do for all of these situations, for all of these controversies, whatever you want to call them. I am going to sit here for the next hour or so. That's for me. Don't worry, it should be less for you. And I'm going to try and find the balance. Bringing us to the question of the day. Is the casting of Quasimodo in the Hunchback of Notre Dame inherently ableist? Oh my God. Hey, welcome back to my theatre themed YouTube channel. Or hello to you if you're listening on podcast platforms. My name is Mickey Jo and I am a theatre critic and content creator here on social media. And today I'm going to be talking through a controversy that has been bubbling up around one of this summer's hottest London theatre tickets, a concert production of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, the long awaited stage musical adaptation that has played in the US that has yet to appear professionally in the West End, but which has been performed in the UK by amateur groups, youth theater groups. As soon as this concert staging of the show was announced, there was an extraordinary amount of excitement. It sold out very quickly and people were very eager to find out about how it was going to be cast. The casting was announced a few weeks ago and since then there has been an entire conversation about the casting of Quasimodo, a disabled character, of course, whose disability is noted even in the title of the show, and who for the purposes of this production, is being portrayed simultaneously by two performers on stage. One of them is Ben Joyce, a rising star of the west, most recently seen in Shucked previously as a replacement Marty McFly in back to the Future as a Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys, with the role also being shared on stage by a deaf performer named Oliver Hewing, portraying Quasimodo through the medium of dance, the exact balance of which I cannot yet speak to because although Hunchback has already performed two of its concert stagings, I did not see either of them. I have tickets to see the show next weekend, so I am not, within the context of this particular conversation, going to talk about how this is actually represented on stage, whether it is done so effectively, meaningfully, authentically. But that is going to be an aspect of the conversation that I have when I come to review the show next week, which is a great reminder for you to subscribe right here on YouTube or follow me on podcast platforms so you don't miss that. What we are going to talk about today is the disappointment in response to this casting. And before we do, we're also going to talk about disability representation in theatre. And since mine is, as ever, only one voice, and on this occasion, not a particularly important one to this conversation, I would encourage people to weigh in. In the comment section down below, let us what you think of this casting, of this production, if you have seen it already, of the casting of Quasimodo or similar roles in general, if you have seen prior productions of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, with a reminder, as we find ourselves treading slightly contentious ground, to please be respectful of everyone else who you encounter in the comments section. In the meantime, before we even begin to talk about Quasimodo and the Hunchback of Notre Dame, let's talk about theatre and its promise of community and what that actually means and what that resembles if you are disabled. So from my perspective, what I think is happening here is that this particular piece of casting, which is not like a new, long running West End show, it's not the biggest opening of the year, I think it has become a flashpoint for a bigger conversation in the same way that the recasting of Darren Criss with Andrew Barth Feldman in maybe Happy Ending has ignited a bigger conversation about Asian representation on Broadway and on stage in general. I think that this has fostered a very sadly necessary conversation about disability representation that is bigger than this one particular show. But I'll get back to that point. The thing that I want to convey to you that you likely already realized, but that I think is important to remember in every moment of having this conversation, is that disability representation in theatre is so abysmally poor across the board. And that is obviously not the sole fault of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. To compare it with the maybe happy ending situation, I said an issue that those Broadway producers have who are, you know, looking to replace Darren Criss with the biggest star name that they can get, is that the entertainment industry globally has failed to afford Asian actors the opportunity to become stars with Western name recognition. Simultaneously, the theatre industry and the musical theater industry has done an exceedingly poor job for decades now, since the dawn of time, really, at not even creating star names within the disabled community, but just allowing any kind of access to the stage. I mean that figuratively. I also mean that literally because there are so many stories of the biggest disabled actors that there are. And by the biggest, I mean the most prolific, the most award winning, the most celebrated after those big award wins, still going into shows where they cannot access the stage, or when they're winning those awards, having to take alternate access to the stage because there isn't a comparable provision for them. There are still so many theatres in the West End where disabled performers can't even be considered for roles on the stage because they can't traverse the backstage area. And I feel like when we talk about disability, or specifically when I talk about disability, in my mind I'm conceiving wheelchair users, and that's particularly what I'm invoking in this current conversation. But the truth is that it's so much bigger than that, and that's also a consideration that I don't think that the theatre industry has arrived at theatre for a whole handful of reasons, some of which are easier to resolve than others, is really dreadful at disability inclusion and are steadily improving with some new build theaters, because we're not only bad at disability backstage, we're also bad at allowing disabled audience members access to the building. And access to the building in a way that is comparable, in a way that is safe and in a way that is, you know, affords them dignity and humanity. And they don't have to leave or be escorted out of the building to go and use a toilet elsewhere. And they can get into the building not just if they're wheelchair users, but also if they are power chair users. We also have to think about the very limited number of access performances and relaxed performances, because, believe me, if you've ever had frustrations about trying to schedule a theater trip, think about the people who are restricted to only being able to book access performances, waiting for the one or two days a year that their favorite West End or Broadway show is going to deign to perform in a way that makes it even accessible to them in the first place. And in all of this, what I am perceiving is a talent gap in the industry where there are just far too few disabled actors. And I think that's both because of a lack of consideration and a lack of opportunity, but also a lack of inspiration and representation. I'll get to that, because that's a really important point in this particular conversation. And also I think, and again, this is only my perspective on this, and I'm sure there are many people who could really enlighten us here. There are so many external factors in the world and more so recently, with a lot of cuts to disability support, particularly in the uk, and I'm speaking about all of this very broadly and in a way that begins to feel a little like virtue signaling. So let me Be more specific here. There is a wonderful disabled dancer and teacher who I have met and subsequently followed on social media named Kate Stanforth. Kate is a professional dancer and I believe works with a team of other disabled dance teachers whose work has become harder with new government restrictions on disability allowances. I believe what I'm talking about here is the pip, the Personal Independence Payment. And without people like Kate to inspire that next generation of talent, not only to discover dance dance and discover performance, but also to see a representation of the fact that they can do that amidst, you know, very little representation in media, then we aren't going to resolve this problem. We're not going to foster and encourage a next generation of disabled talent. It's not that they're not capable of it, it's that society is not only not telling them that they can do this, that this is a possibility, but more often than not it is actively telling them that they can't. It's why shows like the Little Big Things are so brilliant and were so fantast representation, because within that you had multiple disabled characters played by disabled performers, but also non disabled characters played by disabled performers, which is something we really have to advocate for. And also, not for nothing, disabled roles understudied by disabled performers as well. And I'm not saying this in order to build towards an extraordinary condemnation of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, but I think it's beneficial for us to all acknowledge the industry wide global problem and to consider, if you hadn't already, how overwhelmingly frustrating this must be for performers within the disabled community, for audience members within the disabled community. And as someone who often likes to feel as though he has all of the answers, I don't know how we get to the promised land in this particular example because there are so many challenges that need to be overcome here. Namely, there is a distinct lack of disability representation and inclusion and advocacy at multiple different levels within the theatre industry. It's easy for us to talk about audiences and people on stage, but at every level, in creative teams, in producing teams, when you really get to the power of the industry, and I remember distinctly being at the UK Musical Theatre Conference 2024 last year at the Royal Court Theatre when a disabled theatre maker, as part of a series of short, basically conversation starters, incendiary topics for consideration, asked a room full of writers and theater makers not to write disabled characters into their work if they themselves were not disabled. Now, initially, this might seem like, you know, a real problem for disability representation because the Little Big Things was fantastic, because it necessitated disabled performers being in that space to play disabled roles. But the point that was being made was that there was no neutral way of framing a character's disability. If that is not your lived experience. If you are writing that from outside of the disabled community, you are either portraying it as inspirational or, you know, one thing or another. But there was, there was no possibility of neutrality there. And so I do think in light of that and the really terrific points that were made, the greatest thing that we can advocate for is more disabled actors being able to play non disabled.
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Mickey Jo
Or auto and home insurance. With usaa, you can bundle your auto and home and save up to 10%. Tap the banner to learn more and get a'@usaa.com bundle restrictions apply roles, which is something that we're starting to see steadily. I'm thinking about Gracie McGonagall in a handful of roles. I'm thinking about Beth H. Quinton Lever in Hadestown and in A Chorus Line. I'm thinking about Daniel Monks in the Seagull. Although admittedly there are many examples of disabled performers having great opportunities in disabled roles, playing explicitly disabled characters, and then being able to transition into playing able bodied characters. And I can think of probably less than 10 actors who are wheelchair users. And I can think of one director and I can think of one choreographer. But in 2025, that remains an inexcusably small contingent, which creates a problem in and of itself. Like I said, without that representation, then the next generation of performers aren't being inspired. And we've often heard that drama school intake responds to what exists within the industry and that the dawning of shows like Hamilton did a lot for the diversification of drama school intakes. And it would seem as though there needs to be an increase in the provision of training for young disabled actors. But for that to even happen, we also have to light the spark in the first place. We have to ignite that passion in the next generation of talent. And I'm saying all of this and laboring the point here because that's how important rep representation is. And the conversation today is about casting. And when it comes to casting, there are three important Principles at play here. And I named these a few weeks ago when we talked about this with maybe Happy Ending. The first is accuracy. And this becomes important when there are facets of a character's identity that must be depicted accurately on stage. I'm thinking about the casting of Hairspray, in which, you know, you have to have white actors playing the white characters. You have to have black actors playing the black characters. There are also moments where we choose to deliberately subvert accuracy in casting, like with Hamilton. And since the finest actors of their generation a few decades back learned how to stop doing blackface, we have subsequently arrived at what I think is a slightly more challenging conversation, which is the next principle after accuracy. We get something similar but different, and that is authenticity. And this is the one that I refer people to when I hear that familiar criticism. Isn't it supposed to be acting? Aren't they supposed to be actors? And the answer to that, of course, is yes, usually followed by a sigh. Because ultimately, unless it's an autobiographical piece, that there's always going to be some aspect of inaccuracy when it comes to casting a human being to play a different real or imaginary human being. But what we can strive for is authenticity and the capacity of that actor to have pre existing insights into the lived experience of that character. That's also, I think, a fundamental ingredient to great performances. We should be valuing authenticity. We should be uplifting and searching for authenticity. We should be celebrating and applauding authenticity, because authenticity is the thing that gives us great performances, characters that feel real and that entire communities can connect to because they recognize the understanding that has gone into creating that person's story. On the flip side of that, I believe it is also possible for audiences to emotionally reject a performance that they can tell is inauthentic. But there are also instances where accuracy and authenticity don't strictly matter. But we arrive at the third principle, which we have already named several times over thus far. And that is is representation. And if I haven't already conveyed to you why representation matters so much, it is because somebody is not going to do something until they can discover that it is possible for them to do it. Until they learn that that is an option for them, that that is something that they see. Until they can experience someone who looks like them, who sounds like them, who is familiar to them, doing that thing, playing a character, being on stage, stage, being an actor, until they get that representation, then, you know, it may never occur to people that that is a choice, that they even have baby birds, don't fly out of the nest until they see their parents do it. Maybe I don't know that much about birds. I'm not an ornithologist. What I do know is that it's vitally important that we diversify our stages in every single way. And it's sort of staggering that we're still having a conversation about disability representation, because I feel like it was one of the earliest frontiers in terms of a conversation about casting authenticity. I say early. None of this was that early because, like I said, we were still doing blackface a few decades ago. And I say we. Horrible time to use that word. I don't mean me personally. I was thinking about Larry. But if we think about it, and one of the earliest frontiers was allowing women to, you know, even perform on the stage sometime after Gwyneth Paltrow in Shakespeare in Love. I'm talking about the historical period, not her doing the film. Racial authenticity was perhaps the next gradual conversation that began to come into play. And any momentum gained by the movie movement towards authentic casting for disabled characters with disabled actors was probably only amassed since the new millennium. And honestly, a little while after that, I'm thinking about Eddie Redmayne in the Theory of Everything and the conversation that that ignited not too long ago, right here I was talking about Artistic Directory of the Globe Theater, Michelle Terry casting herself as Richard III in a production of Richard iii, a production which acknowledged that it was going to take a very different stance on the depiction of Richard's disability. One which, it's worth noting, is not too far from Quasimodo's. And if I'm being honest, I think considerably sound has been gained by parallel campaigns by, you know, the representation of trans and non binary characters portrayed by trans and non binary performers. That's come a very long way in a very short space of time. Also queer actors in explicitly queer roles, also autistic actors in autistic roles. And when you consider the changing face of the industry with regards to those specific examples of representation, then the lack of representation for disabled characters and disabled actors and the disabled community begins to feel conspicuous. All of which brings me to this particular piece of casting for the Hunchback of Notre Dame. So having taken the longest possible run up to this, let me tell you what has happened. So since this casting was first announced that Ben Joyce was going to be playing this role with Oliver Hewing also sharing the role. And that is sort of how it's been framed, that Ben Joyce is Quasimodo and Oliver Hughing is also Quasimodo There has been considerable pushback from disabled advocates, social media commentators, journalists, prompting a statement by Equity UK which I think it's pertinent to share here. This was shared on 14 August entitled Casting Concerns over Quasimodo Role Equity has raised concerns about the casting process for an upcoming production of the Hunchback of Notre Dame in Concert, which casts a non disabled performer in the title role, Quasimodo, arguably one of the most recognizable characters characters with a disability. The Union has been having positive engagement with Jack Maple Productions about this, highlighting the structural discrimination faced by disabled artists, which is a far more eloquent way of putting the thing that I took sentences and sentences to try and explain just earlier on ahead of the show's opening at the Prince Edward Theatre in London this weekend, which took place a few days ago. The following is their Public Equity's policy is to support the casting of a deaf or disabled artist in deaf or disabled character roles. This should be supported by a fair and accessible audition process and paired with targeted outreach to those artists who have lived experience of the specific disability, impairment, health condition or similar being portrayed. The decision not to cast a physically disabled actor in the title role of the Hunchback of Notre Dame in Concert goes against these principles. Equity reached out to the production company Jack Maple Productions to understand its processes and is aware that individuals with disabilities are involved in the production and that BSL will be incorporated into one performance. However, however, these facts sidestep the real and significant issue of casting a non physically disabled performer in the role of a physically disabled character. Such a move has a detrimental effect on the representation of physically disabled artists in the industry, which is what I was noting before. These artists face structural discrimination when trying to access jobs and careers in the performing arts and entertainment and do not have equal access to the many roles where disability is not portrayed by the character, which is an incredibly good point. Equity's policy has been formulated to address the persistent issue of underrepresentation of deaf and disabled artists and to push the industry to move beyond incidental inclusion and towards true representation. And there are some more words here from Natalie Amber, Chair of Equity's Deaf and Disabled Members Committee. The casting of this role has caused concern and raised many questions from our members. Although the production explores the character's deaf identity, the physical disability at the center of Quasimodo's character he is the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Charm is intrinsic to the story. To highlight one facet while overlooking another erases the lived experience of people with physical impairments and is an example of ableism. While we welcome the inclusion of BSL interpreters, neurodivergent and Romani performers, it is important to recognize that diversity is not a trade off. Representation of one marginalized group does not excuse the erasure of another. And what I will say, while exercising so much agreement, agreement with the words that were just said, is that too little acknowledgement has been given there to Oliver Hewing, who is also sharing the role. And when they refer to other representation throughout the production. One example is choreographer Mark Smith, who is a deaf choreographer who also worked on the Little Big Things and whose inclusion within this production, I think, is a really brilliant one. And it is to a certain extent a shame that his inclusion and Oliver's work are going to be ultimately, I think, overshadowed by the conversation that has emerged around Ben Joyce's casting as Quasimodo. And we have to remember that Quasimodo is an inherently disabled character in the Disney animated film upon which this stage adaptation is based. Quasimodo has a condition known as kyphosis. But further to that, in the Victor Hugo novel upon which that animated Disney film is based, I believe he is also deaf. He is also visually impaired. And this is a combination of disabilities that makes casting the role accurately essentially impossible because it is not feasible, or at the very least, it is extraordinarily improbable that an actor can be found who can capably portray this story and this character and this score who even exists with that specific combination of disabilities. And so with accuracy, somewhat out the stained glass window, we look to authenticity and we look to representation and Oliver's involvement in the show. Sharing in the role of Quasimodo, I think is a really important part of representation. The conversation around representation gets very loaded when we're talking about the disabled community, because all of the language that I have been using in terms of representation is kind of inherently ableist or at least exclusionary of the visually impaired community. Because I only ever talk about, you know, seeing yourself representing, presented on stage. If you're a blind performer, then that's an entire world of inaccessibility. Anecdotally, before I have seen the concert, I have seen some commentary on social media expressing confusion around Oliver's role in the show and the sharing of the character and moments of BSL and moments of interpretive dance and audiences not necessarily understanding that. I think to stand in criticism of that is a little disappointing. And I also think there's a very challenging reality to be considered that unless a performer's disability is. Can actually be perceived by an audience, then you know it's not actually offering representation if nobody knows about it. If disabled audiences don't know that they are witnessing a disabled performer on stage, then the representation arguably isn't being entirely achieved. Same with the efforts of Mark Smith, the brilliant choreographer who is not personally performing on stage. And we could talk at length through the difficult questions that arise when we consider what representation actually is and what it means if you can't.
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Mickey Jo
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Mickey Jo
Perceive it. But in any case, the undeniable reality here, I think, think, is that when it comes to authenticity, the role of Quasimodo ought always to be played by a disabled performer. And I think specifically in an ideal world, one with visible difference. Not necessarily kyphosis explicitly, but certainly somebody who has an insight into what it means to go through the world with visible difference, to know what it means to feel the othered in that very specific way that Quasimodo has been. At the same time, it is acting. And you know, you're not going to encounter someone who explicitly understands the reality of being imprisoned in a bell tower. That's not what I'm saying. That's not what anyone's saying. What we are saying is that the performance will be even better given by an actor who is personally empowered to convey comparable emotions, who has a closer emotional insight into what that actually means and what that actually feels like. And yet, having said that, and having seen an awful lot of theater within the industry, I don't know who that actor is. Which is not to say that they don't exist. And I'm not suggesting that there aren't individuals who could authentically portray this character who could also capably sing this extraordinarily demanding score. I mean, There is out there and there is heaven's light, but then there is also made of stone, which is in a whole nother league of challenging. But certainly those individuals who may exist haven't risen to prominence in the theater industry globally, at which point the burden is on the creative team and the producers to explore innovative solutions, one of which has been implemented here with the role being shared between multiple performers. And there is more that could have been done with this. There are other ways in which this could have been represented, perhaps more meaningfully. But I do think, inevitably, Quasimodo is one of these characters who is going to remain impossibly difficult to cast accurately on stage and deeply challenging to cast authentically on stage. Which is very possibly one of the big reasons as to why Disney seems so apprehensive to give this a fully staged iteration here in the uk. Certainly this probably isn't going to make them any more enthusiastic about it. And the Disney of it all is also worth remembering, because this concert and its casting don't happen in a vacuum, and they don't happen independently from the eyes of the mouse. And the reality here is that Disney would have had sign off on the individuals who were assembled. There may even have been input as to how Quasimodo ought to be represented. There may even have been restrictions on how Quasimodo ought to be represented. We don't know any of this for certain because there haven't been official statements made. And you can understand why I think it's not a surprise that there haven't been official statements made, because inevitably, I think the situation would very closely mirror the one currently being experienced by maybe happy ending, in which the creators said, you know, this is the way that we understand this character. This is the way that we wrote this character. This is the way that we envision this character. And the fans didn't agree with that. I think inevitably, this is the way that Quasimodo, within the context of this three perfect performance concert production of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, has been envisioned by this company, by this production, by this creative team, and the disabled community doesn't agree with that and they're entitled to. And I'm sure there are also some people who will say, if you can't cast the show authentically, then don't produce it in the first place. Obviously, based on the ticket sales, there is demand for this show and for this story. And I question, and perhaps people may disagree with me here, whether it is not more beneficial to tell the story and to emotionally articulate Quasimodo's experience via the dual portrayal of an able bodied and a disabled performer simultaneously. I wonder whether that is less detrimental than, you know, just not telling it whatsoever. The casting of this production, I think, inevitably has faced challenges that are symptomatic of, of decades of ableism within the theater industry. And it's just illustrating the problem that already exists. I don't know the extent to which it is causing problems of its own, but it is generating conversation because it's holding a magnifying glass to the issue which already is there. And it's not the sole example of this because there have been other productions of the Hunchback of Notre Dame which have cast the role similarly, or which have cast the role with an able bodied performance performer and no disabled performer sharing the role. And if the show continues to be licensed to amateur groups and to youth groups, then I don't imagine that it's going to be cast authentically throughout all of those productions. When it comes to visible difference and representing that on stage. We could also talk about the actors who for decades have been portraying the Phantom of the Opera with facial prosthetics. All of which is to say change within the industry is deeply necessary and overdue. And the conversation that has arisen because of Hunchback and the attention that has been brought on this problem, and the systemic lack of representation within the industry for the disabled community and the lack of opportunity and the lack of inclusion is all beneficial. But at this point, now that the conversation has been ignited, now that the conversation is happening, I don't know what further benefit there is in the additional condemnation, the ongoing condemnation of this one particular concert. I think the efforts of the disabled community, its advocates and its allies are perhaps at this point better dedicated to lobbying for change elsewhere in the industry than they are in trying to force an explicit statement from producers, the nature of which we can already predict. We already can understand and perhaps even appreciate the challenges in casting this role authentically, accurately, which is not, for what it's worth, the suggestion that the disabled community ought to tolerate a lack of representation and a lack of authentic depiction, but that we can all be honest about the reality that the problem that is being observed is symptomatic of a much bigger problem that we all already knew about. And having wished for positive conversation, I am now going to stop talking and hopefully let that happen. Please do share your your thoughts in the comments section down below. What do you think of this particular piece of casting and also the bigger issues faced by the disabled community in the theatre industry. If you are a part of the disabled community, I am particularly keen to read your thoughts about all of this and I would urge everyone, as always, to be thoughtful, to be considerate, to be empathetic. But that, for now, is everything that I have to say about this particular topic. In the next few days I will be seeing the concert performance for myself and shortly after afterwards I will be sharing all of my thoughts, including about its disability representation and inclusion in a full review. Make sure you're subscribed here on YouTube or following me on podcast platforms so you don't miss it. In the meantime, I hope that everyone is staying safe and that you have a stagey day for 10 more seconds. I'm Mickey Jo Theatre. Oh my God. Hey, thanks for watching. Have a stagey day. Subscribe.
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- [34:19]
Mickey Jo
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Mickey Jo
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