The Guardian view on authentic casting in Wicked: finally a true celebration of difference | Editorial

While the entertainment industry has been at pains to address issues of diversity in race, gender and sexuality, disability remains shockingly underrepresented. It’s not just that disabled actors are discounted for many roles. As actors and activists have pointed out, “blacking up” might have become taboo, but “cripping up” is still a shoo-in for awards. In almost 100 years, only three disabled actors have won an Oscar, compared to 25 able-bodied actors who have won for playing disabled characters. The arrival this weekend of Wicked: For Good, the second part of a prequel story to The Wizard of Oz, has put the importance of authentic casting in the spotlight once more. The story of green-skinned witch Elphaba, and the prejudice she faces, Wicked is a celebration of difference. Yet since the hit musical opened in 2003, only able-bodied actors had played the part of Nessarose, Elphaba’s disabled sister. Last year, Marissa Bode became the first wheelchair-using actor to take the role, in part one of the film adaptation. The child Nessa is also played by a wheelchair user. The movies give the character greater agency and complexity, amending a scene that suggested she needs to be “fixed”. Audiences have some way to go too: Bode previously challenged “gross and harmful” comments made about Nessa online. But above all it is the industry that must be fixed. According to a recent study, only 21% of disabled characters on US TV between 2016 and 2023 were played by disabled actors. Screenwriter Jack Thorne addressed the problem in British TV in his 2021 MacTaggart lecture, arguing that not only do the stories, and the people telling them, need to change, but also the studios, the majority of which are “still inaccessible”. Show business makes anything possible: animals can speak, emerald cities dazzle and girls fly. But the logistics of getting a wheelchair user on stage or set (supplying basic facilities like toilets) has been considered too tricky, expensive, or unimportant. In 2020, disabled campaigners condemned an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches, which showed the characters with three fingers on each hand, for presenting physical disability as a manifestation of moral depravity, and something to be feared. Daniel Craig’s James Bond eschewed 007’s misogyny and embraced paternal instincts – yet there was no attempt to rethink Ian Fleming’s use of facial difference to signify villainy. But problematic classics can be rebooted effectively. The BBC’s adaptation of Enid Blyton’s much-loved girls boarding school series Malory Towers stars a genuinely diverse cast, including Beau Bradfield, who has a visible difference, and Ellie Goldstein, who has Down’s syndrome; their differences are not part of the storyline. By the time Goldstein appeared on Strictly Come Dancing (which has arguably done more to bring disability to mainstream TV than any other show) this year, she already had a strong fanbase among young viewers. Amid an alarming pushback against inclusivity – one critic dubbed Wicked’s Shiz University “a woke Hogwarts” – authentic casting is more vital than ever. Director Jon M Chu has described The Wizard of Oz as “the great American fairytale”. In Wicked: For Good he has redefined that fairytale. The Broadway stage production of Wicked has followed the film’s example and cast its first ambulatory wheelchair user as Nessarose. Bode has called for disabled people to be hired as writers and crew members too, helping to ensure the narrative truly changes. As Elphaba sings: “Everyone deserves the chance to fly.” Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.