‘Theatre is on its knees’: Lloyd Webber takes aim at COVID rules after one case shuts down show
Andrew Lloyd Webber has taken another swipe at the government after his new show Cinderella was forced to close down due to a coronavirus case.
On Monday afternoon, the impresario announced that the musical would not be going ahead with its “Freedom Day” show after a cast member caught COVID-19, forcing a number of the team to isolate as close contacts – despite them repeatedly testing negative.
Sky News understands the show will be postponed until at least next week.
Carrie Hope Fletcher (L) plays Cinderella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical. Pic: Tristram Kenton
Speaking from the Gillian Lynne Theatre in Covent Garden, where Cinderella was due to open, Lord Lloyd Webber said that his industry “cannot function with this current system”.
“We can’t isolate every time somebody may or may not have it. It just simply doesn’t work,” he said.
“I say this from the heart, I am seeing the profession I have loved, I’m seeing musical theatre I think I had a small part in pioneering in this country at a time when frankly the British were not considered to be people who could do musicals.
“And I am just saying it with passion – please, please will this government for once listen to us.
“Listen. We do know what we’re doing, we do. Just listen and knock all these platitudes and endless, endless blunt instruments that don’t apply across the board.”
Clearly emotional, the peer added that he had “tried and I have tried and I have tried” to work with the government and prove theatres are safe.
Cinderella. Pic: Tristram Kenton
After COVID-19 restrictions were extended in June, Lord Lloyd Webber rejected the government’s offer to be part of the Events Research Programme, which would have allowed him to open his preview shows at full capacity earlier than 19 July.
He also argued that his theatre has “100% fresh air” and the “best ventilation system you can find”, as well as warning of another “very, very major show” that will also be forced to cancel its opening.
“We can’t go on like this, theatre is now on its knees, there’s no way forward,” he said, adding that he feels Prime Minister Boris Johnson “doesn’t seem to grasp what we’re about in theatre”.
The musical theatre magnate says he is determined to open his new multi-million pound show in London, and says he has ignored calls from the industry to move it to Broadway instead.
“I do worry at the end of the day that the government doesn’t regard theatre as anything other than nice to have. I don’t think they have a clue of what the real economic value to the country theatre is, and indeed all forms of live entertainment,” he said.
He said that while Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden “does his best”, “I don’t think he’s really able to be that effective”.
Mr Dowden earlier said that he was “deeply disappointed” to hear of the show’s cancellation, adding he recognised the difficulties that self-isolation was having on the sector.
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Equity, the actors’ union, has called for a change to self-isolation rules for the entertainment industry, warning that the current policy is having a “devastating” and costly impact.
Monday’s opening performance of Lord Lloyd Webber’s show appeared to be sold out, with proceeds going to the NHS and St John Ambulance.
Cinderella is a new musical which offers a twist to the traditional story, and features West End star Carrie Hope Fletcher in the titular role, who told fans she was “so, so sorry” about the closure.
Shows across England and the West End have begun to reopen, some at full capacity and some keeping COVID regulations in place, after legal restrictions were lifted across the country.
Richard Osman has revealed three out of four of the lead characters for the forthcoming big screen adaptation of The Thursday Murder Club.
Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley will take on the roles of Elizabeth Best, Ron Ritchie and Ibrahim Arif respectively.
Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley. Pic: AP
The Pointless host shared the names of the key cast members on his bi-weekly podcast The Rest Is Entertainment, which he presents with journalist Marina Hyde.
Chris Columbus – the man behind Home Alone, Mrs Doubtfire and two Harry Potter movies – is set to write and direct the film, which is being produced by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment.
The movie is based on Osman’s debut novel of the same name which follows a group of friends in a retirement home who solve cold cases for fun, but become entangled in a real murder.
It is set in a retirement home Cooper’s Chase, in the fictitious village of Fairhaven in Kent.
Osman said the production will take place from “the end of June to September” in the UK.
The fourth main character, a retired nurse called Joyce Meadowcroft, has not yet been confirmed.
Osman hinted at the casting, saying: “Joyce, we’re still in negotiations but again the name is the one that people most shout at me in the street”.
He teased: “Lots more casting to come in the following weeks.”
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An adaptation of the novel was first confirmed in 2020 after Amblin Partners secured rights in a competitive auction.
The fastest-selling adult crime debut, Osman has since written three more books in the series, with a fifth due out next year.
Before becoming a well-known face on quiz shows including Pointless and Richard Osman’s House Of Games, the quiz master and author worked as a TV entertainment executive, producing shows including 8 Out Of 10 Cats, Deal Or No Deal and Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Entertainment
Deadpool 3: Ryan Reynolds teases cameo of Wrexham striker Ollie Palmer in new Marvel film
Ryan Reynolds appears to have confirmed that Wrexham striker Ollie Palmer is in his next film, Deadpool 3.
The Hollywood star, an owner of the Welsh football club, shared the trailer on social media, writing: “Found the guy who killed Bambi’s mom”.
A still from the Deadpool 3 trailer. Pic: Marvel/Disney
An eagle-eyed Wrexham fan, who calls himself Beardy on Twitter, quickly noticed a man wearing a denim jacket in the background of one of the scenes, identifying him as “one Ollie Palmer”.
A podcast dedicated to the football club, Fearless In Devotion, backed up his claim, sharing the still from the trailer along with a screenshot of Palmer, 32, commenting on Reynold’s post: “If you squint…”
Reynolds, 47, commented on the podcast’s post: “Keen eyesight”.
The podcast team went on to say they had verified the claim, saying in another comment on the post: “I’ve asked him. He’s confirmed it is him”.
The new Marvel film – which will be out in the UK on 26 July – brings Deadpool and Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman) together to defeat a common enemy.
Palmer appears to make his brief background appearance in the first scene of the trailer, in which Deadpool walks over to Wolverine at a bar.
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He’s wearing a white shirt, jeans and denim jacket, and has dark hair and a bushy dark beard.
Palmer joined Wrexham from AFC Wimbledon in January 2022, a year after Reynolds and It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia co-creator Rob McElhenney, 46, took over the club.
Since then, the Welsh football club has secured two successive promotions, which along with the popular Welcome To Wrexham docuseries, has propelled it into the global spotlight.
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Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds celebrate with the National League trophy. Pic: Reuters
In 2022, Reynolds and McElhenney were honoured by the Welsh government, the Football Association of Wales and S4C for promoting the country and its language with the Dragon Award.
They’ve also met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the King and Queen and the Prince of Wales.
Sky News has contacted Palmer’s representative for comment.
Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway has described a “gross” past audition where she had to “make out” with 10 men.
The 41-year-old star described the experience which she said happened in the early 2000s as “a very different time”.
She told V Magazine: “Back in the 2000s – and this did happen to me – it was considered normal to ask an actor to make out with other actors to test for chemistry, which is actually the worst way to do it.
“I was told, ‘We have 10 guys coming today and you’re cast. Aren’t you excited to make out with all of them?’ And I thought, ‘Is there something wrong with me?’ because I wasn’t excited. I thought it sounded gross.
“And I was so young and terribly aware how easy it was to lose everything by being labelled ‘difficult’, so I just pretended I was excited and got on with it. It wasn’t a power play, no one was trying to be awful or hurt me.
“It was just a very different time and now we know better.”
Hathaway did not specify which film the audition was for or who any of the male actors were.
She compared the casting process with that of her upcoming romantic comedy The Idea Of You, in which she plays a 40-year-old single mum who becomes involved with a 24-year-old boy band singer.
“We asked each of the actors coming in to choose a song that they felt their character would love, that they would put on to get my character to dance, and then we’d do a short little [improvisation]”, Hathaway said.
Describing the casting with 29-year-old British actor Nicholas Galitzine – who won the role – she said he chose a song by Alabama Shakes and the audition was “just easy”.
(R-L) Nicholas Galitzine and Hathaway in The Idea Of You. Pic: PA
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She explained: “I heard [the lead singer of Alabama Shakes] Brittany’s voice and I just started smiling. And he saw me smile, so he relaxed, and we just started dancing.
“Nobody was showing off. Nobody was trying to get the gig. We were just in a space dancing. I looked over and Michael Showalter, our director, was beaming. Spark!”
Galitzine has previously starred in Sky Atlantic’s Mary & George opposite Oscar-winner Julianne Moore, Prime Video comedy Red, White & Royal Blue playing Prince Henry.
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(R-L) Ella Rubin and Hathaway in The Idea Of You. Pic: PA
Hathaway first made her name in 2001 after the release of the original The Princess Diaries film opposite Dame Julie Andrews. In the interview, she addressed rumours of a third film in the franchise.
“We’re in a good place…That’s all I can say. There’s nothing to announce yet. But we’re in a good place,” she said.
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The sequel to the original – The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement – came out three years after the first in 2004.
Hathaway also said “there’s no hiding” the fact that she would love to appear on Broadway during her career.
“[Being on Broadway] was my first dream, you know? And so many amazing, extraordinary things have happened to me but not that one yet. It’s a goal that is very, very much alive inside of me,” she added.
The Idea Of You is streaming from Thursday 2 May on Prime Video.
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