Andrew Lloyd Webber has rejected Boris Johnson’s offer for his musical Cinderella to be included in a Covid pilot scheme. Prior to this, the composer had reportedly provisionally registered to take part in the pilot scheme for full-capacity live events.
Lloyd Webber discussed in a statement how the theatre industry had been treated as “an afterthought and undervalued.”
“I have made it crystal clear that I would only be able to participate if others were involved and the rest of the industry—theatre and music—were treated equally. This has not been confirmed to me,” he added.
As a delay to the easing of social distancing became increasingly more likely, Lloyd Webber has been vocal about the importance of opening theatres, and previously stated he was prepared to risk arrest to reopen theatres fully.
He has now reconsidered his initial plans, acknowledging that “it would be very likely that every member of my cast, crew and orchestra, the front and backstage staff, plus our loyal audience members, could be individually fined £500, which I couldn’t possibly risk.”
Lloyd-Webber confirmed the show, staged at Gillian Lynne, would open on 25 June at the current legal limit—50% capacity.
Today, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Cameron Mackintosh and the live music industry announced they are taking legal action against the government after the results from their live event pilot scheme were not published last week as planned.
Words by Katie Heyes
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.
Image Credit: “Jade Ewen & Andrew Lloyd Webber” by Daniel Kruczynski is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0