Andrew Lloyd-Webber does not think theatre (in particular commercial theatre) will survive the coronavirus if the government doesn’t “step up to the plate and offer help”. That’s rich! Why doesn’t he step up to the plate and help out? How many millions has he accrued from us theatregoers, who have had to pay through the nose to see a production in the West End and even in the fringes?
Lord Andrew has criticised the government for not offering the theatre industry more support, like he claims they are doing for the TV and film industry. “Commercial theatre is pretty much down on the food chain, [the government] are underwriting the film industry with an insurance scheme, does theatre get a look in, no?”
Violins, please! Thanks to lockdown restrictions enforced back in March when the virus first took hold in the UK, the West End has seen all theatres shut the doors in order to adhere to government guidelines on social distancing. Live performance came to a halt, with the theatre industry taking a huge hit – so much so that Lloyd-Webber’s long-standing musical The Phantom of the Opera announced it has now permanently shut down production.
But hey, Lord Andrew’s contribution to saving the theatres is to sign up for the coronavirus vaccine trials. That’s rich! Again! “I will do anything to get theatres open and I thought why not sign on to the vaccine trial.”
Good, good. But I have not heard a dicky bird about putting his own hand in his own pocket or delving into his mass fortune to save the theatre world he claims to so love and cherish. Not a dicky bird. That for me would go some way to pay the staff, keep them in jobs and alleviate some of their anxiety about their futures. So, Lord Andrew, you are not a lord for nothing. Have a think!
