Rehearsals for new Lloyd Webber musical begin
Andrew Lloyd Webber has announced that rehearsals for his forthcoming musical Cinderella have started following the UK government's announcement of a road map out of lockdown.
The theatre impresario said he felt "buoyed" by the announcement last week, after a "harrowing" year that has seen venues shuttered.
Cinderella is set to be staged at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London's West End, with
The Crown star Emerald Fennell, Victoria Hamilton-barritt and Carrie-hope Fletcher.
Lord Lloyd-webber also confirmed that a new cast for The Phantom Of The Opera had been finalised and that a production of Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will return to The London Palladium in July.
He said in a statement: "I am buoyed by the government's road map announcement last week and am absolutely prepared to do my part to get theatre open again this summer.”
A senior police officer has said the force is “keeping a very close eye” on loyalist sentiment in the west of Scotland as tensions rise in Northern Ireland about the sea-based border created by Brexit, MSPS have been told.
Deputy Chief Constable Will Kerr also told Holyrood’s policing sub-committee yesterday that Police Scotland was spending a “significant amount of time understanding” the Northern Ireland protocol.
The EU Withdrawal Agreement created an “invisible” border between Great Britain and the island of Ireland in the Irish Sea, in a bid to ensure there was no physical border between northern and southern parts of Ireland, which would have breached the Good Friday Agreement.
However, it does mean goods exported into Northern Ireland now have to meet customs checks. As a result, there has been growing opposition to the protocol among loyalist groups, which claim it “undermines the union”.
Tensions were further heightened over the European Commission’s hastily reversed plan to trigger Article 16 of the protocol over the export of Covid vaccines to the UK from Northern Ireland, which saw the temporary removal of some staff at Belfast and Larne ports amid concerns for their safety.
Asked by MSPS about the impact of the Withdrawal Bill on Police Scotland since it came into force in January, DCC Kerr said while “significant arrangements” had been made prior to Brexit with the Northern Ireland police for “mutual aid” if officers had to be sent to Northern Ireland, that “threat had diminished significantly”.
He said: “Mutual aid this year is more likely to be characterised
by mutual aid assets coming to support Scotland and Police Scotland, not least for the COP26 event at the end of the year where we’re bringing thousands of additional mutual aid officers,
both general public order and specialist officers, to support us in November.” MSPS also heard the Covid pandemic was potentially “masking” violations such as people trafficking.
DCC Kerr said: “People trafficking is a critical point and organised crime has developed over the past five years.”
New Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has unveiled a “campaign cabinet” and put his leadership rival Monica Lennon in charge of the party’s economy brief.
Hesaid“protectingandcreatingjobs”wouldbeattheheartof the party’s election campaign and Ms Lennon would lead on these issues, with a focus on tackling the structural barriers faced by women getting back into work as a result of the pandemic.
However despite an offer of a frontbench role, former leader Richardleonardhasdecidedto return to the backbenches.
Mr Sarwar said: “I had very positive exchanges with Richard and he felt he didn’t want to comebackonthefrontbenchat this time. But he’s been nothing but supportive and we’re both determinedtoworktogetherto rebuild the party going into the election.”
He added: "I want to win as many seats as possible. What the public have been used to when new leaders come in is to act macho and pretend all is changed overnight and we’re on the cusp of victory but if you look at the polls we’re in a difficult place, but we’re working to win as many seats as possible in May.
“The pathway I want to take the party on is survival to relevance to credible opposition to credible alternative and I think that will probably take longer than 10 weeks but we can developovernextfiveyears.idothink we can stop an SNP majority.”
Two MSPS who led an aborted coup against Mr Leonard last year, Daniel Johnson and James Kelly, are back in the shadow cabinet with roles in finance and community safety and drugs policy.
In a break with tradition, Mr Sarwarhasalsogiventwohighprofile roles to non-msps, with Dundee councillor Michael Marra taking on the education portfolio and disabled
rights campaigner Pam Duncan-glancy speaking on social security issues. Both are standing for Scottish Labour in the May elections.
Deputy leader of the party, Jackie Baillie, will take up the health and social care brief, whileformergovernmentminister and Lothians MSP Sarah Boyack returns to a frontbench rolewithenvironment,climate change and land reform.
Admittingtheglasgowsouthside election, where he will take on Nicola Sturgeon will be “interesting”,headded:“i’vegot the energy, stamina and determination to do this for the long haul.iknowwhattheprojectis, andthat’storebuildsolabouris a credible party of government again and I’m determined to go on that path.
“Weareonlyweeksawayfrom the Holyrood election and we have built a team from both the Parliament and our wider movement. I am determined to bring our party together and harness all our talent.
"There will be a lot of talk about tactical voting, my appeal to people would be rather than tactical voting, vote for what is in the best interests of the country, and if that’s to focus on what unites us not divides us, I want you to vote Labour, if you care about a focus on your job, your child’s education, the NHS, the planet, and a party that obsesses about Covid recovery and not a referendum, I want you to vote for Labour.”