Andrew Lloyd Webber has said he is “heartbroken” after being forced to cancel Monday and Tuesday’s opening nights of his musical Cinderella.
The West End production has been halted by self-isolation measures after a member of the cast tested positive for Covid-19, he said in a statement.
That positive test had already led to two preview performances being scrapped on Saturday.
It’s not clear when the show will now open.
A spokesman for the production told the BBC: “It’s hard to see a route forward under the current rules, but we will do everything we can to come back.”
Lord Lloyd-Webber criticised the government in his statement, describing its isolation guidance as “a blunt instrument”.
On the same day that theatres and venues were allowed to open up fully again, free from Covid restrictions, he wrote: “Freedom Day has turned into closure day”.
Culture secretary Oliver Dowden said he was “deeply disappointed” to hear about Cinderella’s closure.
“Whilst the need to self-isolate is an economy-wide issue, I recognise the particular challenges it presents to the arts and I’m strongly making the case for that in government.”
