Andrew Lloyd Webber is desperate to see UK theatres open at full capacity.
Theatres are currently only able to operate whilst adhering to social distancing guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic, but the 72-year-old composer and theatre owner has demanded the UK government finalise a date by which venues will be allowed to operate as normal.
Lloyd Webber believes that with one-way systems, hand sanitiser stations, contactless payments, face coverings, and anti-bacterial door handles, theatres will be able to open safely without the need for social distancing.
Speaking to a parliamentary committee on Tuesday (08.09.20), Lloyd Webber said: "We know that theatre cannot operate with social distancing.
"I am absolutely confident that the air in the London Palladium and indeed in all my theatres is purer than the air outside."
The musical mogul – who is behind a string of hit musicals including ‘Cats’ and ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ – also hit out at the lack of support for the live performance sector, which he believes is "at the point of no return".
He added: "We are now at the point of no return. Britain is the leader in world theatre in my view, in many, many ways, and we really, really have got to use this opportunity not only just to say that we want to get our sector open but to demonstrate to the world how it can be open.
"We all accept that if COVID-19 becomes really, really, really serious again we would have to close, we understand that."
Lloyd Webber’s demands come after he recently said he was planning on receiving a trial vaccine for coronavirus, in order to prove it’s safe for venues to re-open.
He tweeted last month: "I am excited that tomorrow I am going to be vaccinated for the Oxford Covid 19 trial. I’ll do anything to prove that theatres can re-open safely. – ALW (sic)"