Andrew Lloyd Webber joins Covid vaccine trial 'to prove theatres can re-open safely'

Andrew Lloyd Webber has revealed he will go to any lengths to get theatre started again – including entering himself into vaccine trials.

The musical theatre composer took to Twitter to say that he is “excited” to today be “vaccinated for the Oxford Covid-19 trail".

He added: “I’ll do anything to prove that theatres can re-open safely”.

The experimental vaccine in development by Oxford University and drug company AstraZeneca is currently undergoing human trials.

Hundreds of fans and performers, including Caroline Sheen, Arlene Phillips and Aled Jones, jumped in to wish him well.

Lloyd Webber has given the London Palladium over to develop safety measures. Last month, he held a pilot performance in the theatre with Beverley Knight performing to a socially distanced audience.

The new measures are based on those adopted for The Phantom of the Opera in South Korea, which opened to audiences with increased hygiene measures but no social distancing back in March.

Socially distanced indoor performances were due to resume on August 1, but the government backtracked on this the day before. A new date for restarting indoor performances hasn’t yet been given.

The Oxford vaccine trials are said to have produced “no early safety concerns and induced strong immune responses”.

Lloyd Webber’s newest musical Cinderella has been postponed to open in London in spring 2021, with Carrie Hope Fletcher starring.