A fresh production of the show opened in Melbourne, Australia, at the end of May with far more positive press. In an interview earlier this month, Lord Lloyd-Webber attributed the show's failure to his being treated for cancer during production, which meant he was unable to give it his full attention. "With hindsight we should have said, 'Let's put the whole thing on hold until I'm 100% again'. Frankly I wasn't feeling very well," he said. However, he added that the current Austrailian production "cannot be improved upon..."It is fabulous to look at and they completely understand what I'm trying to get at with the score. It has a momentum that is wonderful."
On Stage - The life of Susan Boyle, who found fame on Britain's Got Talent in 2009, is to be made into a stage musical, it has been announced. The singer surprised judges with her rendition of the Les Miserables song I Dreamed A Dream. Elaine C Smith will play the 50-year-old from Scotland, who has sold over 14malbums worldwide. "A lot has happened in two years and it is a very exciting prospect. I hope everyone enjoys the show and I promise there will be a few surprises along the way," Boyle said. The show, which will tour the country next year, will be produced by Michael Harrison.
Green Glastonbury - Free toilet rolls will be provided for punters at this week's Glastonbury Festival in a bid to boost recycling rates. More than 100,000 free recycled rolls will be handed out to drive up recycling rates from 49% last year to this year's target of 60%. Glastonbury boss, Michael Eavis said: "There will be more than enough for everyone and more importantly it will be the right kind of loo roll." He has teamed up with a manufacturer who will provide the free rolls.
Other plans have also been announced to make the festival more environmentally friendly. People who cycle to the festival will have access to a special camping area and will also be offered discount vouchers at the food stalls. A recycling barn will also be set up for festival goers to drop off cans, bottles and packaging. A team of 80 volunteers will sort and separate it out for recycling.
Olympic Countdown - The BBC has unveiled plans for a weekend festival celebrating orchestral music across the UK as part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Music Nation will take place on 3 and 4 March next year, with related performances during the preceding week. It is part of Festival 2012 and will include Rufus Wainwright's setting of five Shakespearean sonnets. The idea is to stage performances in 45 venues across the UK - among them, the first joint performance of the Ulster and RTE Orchestras in Belfast.
Voices Off - Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Master of the Queen's Music, has called for people who use mobile phones during performances to be fined. "I would just love to see something where people would be fined... and that the money went to the Musician's Benevolent Fund," he told the BBC. Sir Peter said he was "really upset" when two concerts he attended recently were interrupted by phones ringing. "It's becoming such a plague that one has to say something," he said.
(Jim Evans)
