What happened next rendered us speechless. Sarah did a brilliant covering job for me at the party by saying I was at the other end of the room when I wasn't, so for ten minutes Trevor and I had free rein of the empty theatre. Could she keep my various relatives and wellwishers at bay in the green room whilst I phoned Trevor Nunn? Luckily I got straight through to the RSC's HQ at the Aldwych Theatre and begged him to sprint the few hundred yards to the New London. The moment the show was over I told a disbelieving Sarah that I'd found a cats' home. Whilst kissing some long-lost great-aunt I remembered that this was achieved by a giant turntable in the floor. Built on the site of the old Winter Garden, the New London opened in 1973 as the "theatre of the future." It was designed by Sean Kenny, the man responsible for some of the most revolutionary sets ever, as both a proscenium theatre and theatre-in-the-round. During the endless procession of cousins I never knew I had, my eyes wandered around a perfect pussydrome. The TV programme was recorded in the New London Theatre. That was because my mind was entirely somewhere else. I remember little about the TV programme nor the parade of relatives and friends who were dredged up. Next morning I gave a virtuoso acting performance about knowing nothing which caused Sarah to fear the polar opposite. It was that old chestnut of a TV show where ancient relatives and so-called friends were wheeled out to the surprise and shock of all too often B-list celebrities. So that was the reason for my ludicrous schedule. After a lot of incoherent drivel about relatives, she mumbled the words " This Is Your Life." One night I woke to hear her burbling on about a big secret that "Andrew mustn't know about." Naturally I took advantage of her semiconscious state and asked in my best soothing psychiatrist tones what it was. My poor wife was worried so sick about my suicidally stupid musical that she had taken to pouring out her angst in her sleep. I discovered what was behind this nonsense in the middle of the night. No matter how many times I said she was a congenial idiot either Cameron or Sarah insisted the London auditions were etched in granite. I couldn't understand why Biddy, my sanguine PA, kept crazily scheduling an audition in London between the two northern casting dates. Two days later it was up to Glasgow and Newcastle, in the middle of which I had a glorious half day off which I planned to spend squinting at architecture. I thought she had a nice voice and that was about it. She arrived wearing a blue wig which may be the reason why I played "Don't Rain on My Parade" so appallingly for her. A private meeting was arranged at my London flat. It was a surprise that she wanted to audition as she was a pop name with a big hit with "Starship Trooper" under her belt. That's how I first properly met Sarah Brightman. NOVEMBER WAS BLANKED OUT for me and Gillie to audition up and down the country for that impossibly rare breed in 1980s Britain, dancers who could sing and act. Their third production, Evita, opened in London to great acclaim in June 1978.Īndrew Lloyd Webber recalls his experience of This Is Your Life in his autobiography, Unmasked. They followed that success with the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar, which opened on Broadway after the release of a hugely successful concept album, before opening in London in August 1972 where it played for 3357 performances, closing in 1980 as the longest running musical in British theatre history. After being developed into a two hour production the musical was staged in the West End and ran for 9 months in 1973. In 1965 he met lyricist Tim Rice, and together they collaborated on a piece originally commissioned for a school choir, which eventually became Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Andrew Lloyd Webber, composer, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews - with the help of company members of the musical Evita - at Thames Television's Euston Road Studios, having been led to believe he is there to be interviewed about his new musical.Īndrew, who was born in London, read history for a term at Magdalen College, Oxford, before abandoning the course to pursue his interest in musical theatre by studying at the Royal College of Music.
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