Andrew Lloyd Webber is right: the show must go on

Freedom Day is in jeopardy – so one man has taken matters into his own hands.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Britain’s greatest living impresario, has vowed to open his theatres after 21 June ‘come hell or high water’ – even if that means he could be arrested.

🔴Exclusive: Andrew Lloyd Webber has pledged to reopen his theatres without social distancing later this month “come hell or high water”

And is prepared to be arrested for it.

~ Thread 👇https://t.co/t3CxSCjxLJ pic.twitter.com/pRgnj4YHDQ

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) June 8, 2021

Lloyd Webber told the Telegraph that his theatres were under ‘acute financial stress’ after a year of lockdown. His new musical, Cinderella, is due to open for previews on 25 June. But if social-distancing rules are not scrapped, it has no chance of recouping its £6million budget.

But what if Matt Hancock and Boris Johnson, the two ugly sisters, cancel the ball? A defiant Lloyd Webber said the police will have to ‘come to the theatre and arrest us’. He has even threatened the government with ‘the mother of all legal cases’ if it does not allow large events to go ahead.

We need more Lloyd Webbers – superstars brave enough to take a stand for freedom. From 21 June, the show must go on.