FRUSTRATED! WHERE'S THE COLOUR-BLIND CASTING IN THIS BLOODY COUNTRY!!!

The problem with "colour-blind" casting, to me at least, falls into two quite separate sections: firstly whether a non specific role should be open to all ethnic groups; which comes with a big thumbs up from me. I have recently directed actors from China, Singapore and the Philipines and found it an excellent and rewarding experience. The more directors consider the full range of talent available the better in my opinion. My problem lies with another aspect of the practice, that of casting families from different ethnic groups. In London I saw a "Romeo and Juliet" with Mr and Mrs Montegue both white, and Romeo (their son) played by a black actor. I just kept wondering why no-one drew this to Mr Montegue's attention, and pointed out his wife's obvious infidelity. Surely if we ignore this visual aspect of charcterisation, the audiences will never know whether to make assumptions based on appearance or to put this down to the casting process. And if we have to ignore colour, then what next? Will we have to ignore shape, or gender? Let me be clear: I am not arguing for a white Europeans only approach. If, in the above example Montegue and his wife had also both been black. there would have been no problem (and two more roles for non white actors). I also realise that children's theatre ignores all this. But we rarely go to see a Nativity play (for example) looking for the subtle and sensitive playing one would expect from adult professional actors. In life, we often make judgements and assumptions based on looks that we have to re-appraise or change. Take that aspect away from theatre and you rob Drama of layers and levels and leave us unsure what we should be noticing and what ignoring. I wonder what other people's views on this might be?