He demonstrated to the government the effectiveness of numerous Covid safety measures: ventilation, social distancing, temperature checks, mask wearing, hand sanitiser stations and one-way systems – which then became industry standard. However, rather than waiting for a fairy godmother, Lloyd Webber spent £150,000 to mount a pilot event at the London Palladium in July with singer Beverley Knight.

It featured not just a new score from Lord Lloyd-Webber – his first since 2015’s School of Rock – but witty lyrics by David Zippel (who previously collaborated with him on The Woman in White) and a progressive book by the rising British star Emerald Fennell, showrunner on season two of Killing Eve and an Oscar winner for her subversive film Promising Young Woman.īut this contemporary Cinderella was halted by our modern plague, when theatres were forced to close their doors in March 2020. While mounting a new show in the midst of Covid has been an unbelievable challenge, we held the government’s feet to the flames throughout their changes of heart during the pandemic.”Ĭinderella was originally due to open at London’s Gillian Lynne Theatre in August 2020. As Lloyd Webber said in a statement yesterday, Cinderella “led the charge to reopen the West End, ensuring that theatre and live entertainment remained relevant and in the news. It swiftly became a symbol of the plight of British theatre – especially commercial theatre – during the worst days of Covid, and how the government’s vacillating policies throttled our once-thriving industry. This beleagured Cinderella wasn’t just a much-anticipated new Lloyd Webber venture. Frankly it’s something of a miracle that the show went on in London at all. But Cinders will go to the ball again, when the show heads to Broadway in February 2023.

It was announced yesterday that the composer’s latest musical will close earlier than planned, on June 12. There won’t be a happily ever after for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella – at least, not for this current West End production.

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