LONDON:
Aston Villa beat Burton 3-1
“The Phantom of the Opera” composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has told British lawmakers that the arts are “at the point of no return,” and urged the government to set a date for theaters to be allowed to reopen.
Lloyd Webber spoke about the struggles of staging socially distanced shows and making them profitable, noting that very few shows “hit the jackpot” like “Hamilton,” “Lion King” or “Phantom.”
“We simply have to get our arts sector back open and running ... We are at the point of no return, really,” he told Parliament’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee by video. “There comes a point when we really can’t go on anymore. Theatre is an incredibly labour-intensive business. In many ways, putting on a show now is almost a labor of love.”
He added that theater shows are “not like cinema, you can’t just open the building.”
In July, Lloyd Webber’s company staged a pilot concert featuring soul singer Beverley Knight at the London Palladium to test coronavirus-era safety measures like separating clusters of seats and mandatory mask wearing. The theater boss hoped that the trial performance could show how theaters can open at full capacity safely.
Asked about whether he has a message for the British government, Lloyd Webber said: “Give us a date” to reopen.
LONDON, Sept 16, (AP): Bournemouth beat Crystal Palace 11-10 in an unusually long penalty shootout to advance to the third round of the English League Cup after the game ended at 0-0 after 90 minutes.
As the sides remained deadlocked after five penalties each, even both goalkeepers had to take spot kicks – and they both missed.
Eventually David Brooks scored his second penalty for Bournemouth and Luka Milivojevic’s second was saved by goalkeeper Asmir Begovic to knock out the Premier League side.
Bournemouth, which was relegated from the Premier League in July, plays Manchester City in the next round.
Jack Grealish celebrated his new contract at Aston Villa by scoring the decisive goal in a 3-1 victory over Burton.
The match looked to be heading for a penalty shootout after Ollie Watkins had scored Villa’s equalizer late in the first half to cancel out Colin Daniel’s opener for the third-division team after only 68 seconds.
But Grealish struck a volley from the edge of the area to put Dean Smith’s team in front in the 88th minute.
Keinan Davis made sure of the victory in stoppage time to set up a trip to Bristol City or Northampton in the next round.
Sebastien Haller scored twice in four first-half minutes before Felipe Anderson added a late third as West Ham advanced past Charlton 3-0.
The win may only temporarily paper over the cracks after West Ham’s poor start to the season – a 2-0 home loss to Newcastle on Saturday – as well as unrest off the field.
Ryan Fraser secured Newcastle’s 1-0 victory over Blackburn by scoring on his first appearance for the northeast club, which will play fourth-tier side Morecambe in the third round.
Lincoln will host Premier League champion Liverpool in the third round after routing Bradford 5-0. Luton also has a glamorous home match next week against Manchester United after beating Reading 1-0.
Barnsley beat Middlesbrough 2-0 to secure a trip to Chelsea, although Stamford Bridge – like all stadiums – will be empty to due coronavirus restrictions.
Tottenham will play Leyton Orient, which ousted Plymouth 3-2. Tottenham striker Harry Kane sponsors the jerseys at Orient, where he spent part of his early career on goal, giving the space to good causes.
Meanwhile, out of favor at Real Madrid, Gareth Bale is hoping to secure a return to Premier League club Tottenham to revitalize his career.
Bale’s agent, Jonathan Barnett, confirmed to The Associated Press that he is in talks with Tottenham about the 31-year-old forward rejoining the club he left seven years ago.
“That’s where he wants to go,” Barnett told the AP.
There is still plenty of time to complete the deal, with the summer transfer window closing on Oct 5.
With a contract running at Madrid until 2022, Bale could rejoin Tottenham on a loan deal rather than a permanent signing. Tottenham, which is managed by Jose Mourinho, declined comment.
Bale has been repeatedly thwarted in his efforts to restart his career away from Madrid. The Spanish champions signed Bale from Tottenham for 100 million euros (then $132 million), which was a world-record fee at the time, but he has struggled for game time in recent seasons – in part due to injury problems.
Bale accused Madrid of blocking a move to the Chinese Super League earlier this year.
“There have been other incidents when we’ve tried to go but the club wouldn’t allow it or have done something,” Bale told broadcaster Sky earlier this month.
Bale has scored some memorable goals for Madrid as the team has won four Champions League titles – including an overhead kick in the 2018 final victory over Liverpool.
But he was often characterized as an outcast in Madrid for spending time playing golf rather than socializing with squad members.