Protests Break Out In London Over ‘Cinderella’ Closure Following Andrew Lloyd Webber Decision To Move Show To Broadway

deadline.com:

Members of the UK’s major theater unions have spent the past hour protesting against the sudden closure of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella run in London’s West End.Actors union Equity organized the protest outside the Gillian Lynne Theatre after multiple cast and crew on the show found out over the weekend via Twitter that it will be ending its run in just six weeks’ time, before the show is completely revamped and moved to Broadway.Equity members were joined by behind-the-camera union Bectu reps and the protestors had three demands:Management from Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group wrote to cast and crew Sunday expressing their “huge gratitude to everyone involved” with the play and saying the company had “held the [UK] government’s feet to the flames throughout their changes of heart during the pandemic.”Lloyd Webber, the UK’s biggest theater name, has been a vocal critic of the government for the impact its policies have had on the creative industries, but his decision to close Cinderella attracted a wealth of criticism.Equity General Secretary Paul W Fleming said: “Equity members made this show.

They poured their hearts and skills into it through the worst two years in living memory. Now they’re jobless, effectively sacked by press release.

All unions are fighting forms of this practice right now – and Equity will get compensation for our members after the pain and distress this has caused them.”New and returning series on broadcast, cable and streamingSeries that made it or didn’t make it in 2020-21Broadcast networks’ fall lineups and schedules