Andrew Lloyd Webber: I want to prove theatre can open again

Andrew Lloyd Webber has called on the theatre industry to be “positive” about its future amid the pandemic.

He plans to trial measures at The London Palladium after Phantom Of The Opera continued in South Korea with strict hygiene measures and no social distancing.

It has been “absolutely awful to see everything that I’ve loved in my life gone”, the theatre impresario said. “I want to prove that they can be open.”

The composer told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:

He said he had spoken to Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.

His comments came after Les Miserables, Mary Poppins, Hamilton and The Phantom Of The Opera were pulled from the West End for the rest of the year.>Theatre owner and producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh blamed the decision to axe the popular musicals until 2021 on “continued uncertainty” over when the Government will completely withdraw social distancing measures.>Kwame Kwei-Armah, the artistic director of the Young Vic, also called for help after stars warned that the UK theatre industry stands “on the brink of ruin”.>He said that around “70% of theatres up and down the country … will run out of cash by December”.