Black actors in London, Ont., slam Palace Theatre's white casting for Little Shop of Horrors production

Artists in London, Ont., are denouncing a local community theatre for not casting Black actors in the roles of a singer trio of Black women in its adaptation of a 1980s horror-comedy musical film. 

Community members immediately criticized Palace Theatre's cast announcement for its upcoming production of Little Shop of Horrors for lack of diversity, specifically for the roles of Crystal, Ronette and Chiffon — three Black street urchins named after popular girl groups from the 1960s — integral to the movie's plot.  

"Something that's been lost in this casting is the understanding that these three characters are rooted in the Black experience," said Kih Becke, an actor from London who will play Crystal in Neptune Theatre's production of the same play in Halifax starting in March.

"There are context clues that tell you the characters are Black and they're named after three iconic Black girl groups. In this particular production, [at Palace Theatre] the roles are being played by white actors and it's incredibly unfair and harmful to the Black community as a whole."

The theatre's executive director Melissa Parker said she takes full responsibility for the Black community feeling let down and her team will work diligently to regain their trust. No Black actors auditioned for those roles, she said, adding that the theatre didn't make extra efforts to diversify its search. 

"We want to be doing the most in terms of inclusion within the theatre community. We want to be that safe space for people where everyone could celebrate theatre," Parker told CBC News. 

"Because we are a community theatre, we focus on the London community but what we learned from this opportunity is that we should have made more of a concerted effort to reach out to key groups for the demographics we want in this show."

While not a direct part of the 1986 cult classic's storyline, the three women appear as a Greek chorus in every song and sing directly to the audience in a narrative style using using African-American Vernacular English. 

Continuing to put the production on, despite the lack of Black actors, dodges accountability, Becke said. She compared her own recent experience auditioning for the play in Halifax and said the artistic team showed great care in their approach to the three characters. 

The Palace missed the mark on create opportunities for diverse groups and should reflect on why Black actors didn't audition for the play, said Alexandra Kane, a music director and head of London's Black Lives Matter chapter.  

"It was hurtful, harmful, disrespectful and just completely tone deaf. It's tough to get everybody that you want to see in an audition, speaking as a music director. But to solve those issues we call around, we look for what we need to fill roles," said Kane.

"We don't just say 'Oh well, nobody else came so this is what we have.' We don't just settle, if you're committed to it then you make it a priority and make sure it happens."

The message sent is that Black actors are replaceable and their voice don't matter, Kane said. Including marginalized voices on artistic teams can help cast and crew members from various communities feel represented, Kane and Becke said. 

The theatre will look for actors from other regions in the future, Parker said. Her team will receive more diversity, equity and inclusion training and will listen to community feedback to ensure staff and guests feel included, she said.