ALW shuts down Cinderella of the West End and blames UK COVID rules

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Cinderella won’t make it to the ball. Photo: Taylor Hill / FilmMagic

Andrew Lloyd Webber has stepped up his ongoing fight with the UK government over his restrictions on reopening theaters. Today, Webber suddenly announced that he would be shutting down his new musical version of Cinderella, which was due to open on July 20, due to what he called the blunt instrument of the government’s isolation directive. Cinderella had already started performances on June 25 at 50% capacity and had canceled two shows on July 17 due to a positive COVID-19 test from someone who has a cameo role on the show. Today, there were plans to return to performances, on what Webber calls Freedom Day, when full capacity performances can resume in London.

A statement from Andrew Lloyd Webber pic.twitter.com/bP8wgq2Nyt

– Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella (@ALWCinderella) July 19, 2021

As Webber calls out Cinderella’s closing day today in her post, it’s unclear whether Cinderella will eventually be able to return to performances. In an Instagram story, Carrie Hope Fletcher, who plays the title role, said Belleville would finally open not today, while representatives for Webbers told WhatsOnStage it was difficult to see a way forward. with the current rules, but we will do everything we can get back as soon as possible! Either way, this announcement is a sudden turnaround for Webber, who has already promised he would be willing to get arrested for opening Cinderella. Maybe the show’s abrupt shutdown is, in turn, a brutal effort to get the government to further ease its restrictions in the event of a pandemic, or maybe Webber decided Cinderella was just not worth it. worth fighting for and turned out to be a pumpkin from the start.

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