LONDON - Cinderella cast members have expressed their frustration after finding out the musical’s West End run was cancelled on social media.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s show will end on 12 June, it was announced on Monday. But some cast members said they read the news on social media or news outlets before being told themselves.
Lord Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group told BBC News “every effort was made to ensure people were notified before the announcement went live”. The theatre impresario said he was “incredibly proud” of the show but has not yet personally commented on the complaints about how the announcement was handled.
No official reason was given for the show’s early closure, but the Cinderella website says anyone with tickets for performances after 12 June would not lose their money. The cast of Cinderella were told about the show’s early closure on Sunday afternoon, when they were gathered for a matinee performance. A message was then sent out to the show’s actors and crew with producers thanking them for their “immeasurable contribution to the show” and confirming a statement was being made to the press shortly. However, some cast members, including the show’s star Carrie Hope Fletcher, were absent from Sunday’s matinee performance, which meant the story began to appear in the press before all performers had heard the news.
“I wasn’t in the show and I was only informed via other cast members and a member of the music team,” Fletcher wrote on Instagram. “I had no official call from the company to let me know before it was posted online.” Furthermore, Cinderella - written by The Crown star Emerald Fennell was due to welcome a new cast in the coming weeks. While many members of the current company were told in person, actors from the incoming cast complained that they were not informed at all. In a 164-minute video on Instagram, actress Summer Strallen discussed the situation in detail, saying that, while her agent received an email, she “basically got fired by social media, which is just not OK”.
She said she had had a wig fitting recently ahead of her taking over the role of The Queen from Rebecca Trehearn, and claimed she had only found out the show was cancelled when a friend sent her an article on Sunday.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s show will end on 12 June, it was announced on Monday. But some cast members said they read the news on social media or news outlets before being told themselves.
Lord Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group told BBC News “every effort was made to ensure people were notified before the announcement went live”. The theatre impresario said he was “incredibly proud” of the show but has not yet personally commented on the complaints about how the announcement was handled.
No official reason was given for the show’s early closure, but the Cinderella website says anyone with tickets for performances after 12 June would not lose their money. The cast of Cinderella were told about the show’s early closure on Sunday afternoon, when they were gathered for a matinee performance. A message was then sent out to the show’s actors and crew with producers thanking them for their “immeasurable contribution to the show” and confirming a statement was being made to the press shortly. However, some cast members, including the show’s star Carrie Hope Fletcher, were absent from Sunday’s matinee performance, which meant the story began to appear in the press before all performers had heard the news.
“I wasn’t in the show and I was only informed via other cast members and a member of the music team,” Fletcher wrote on Instagram. “I had no official call from the company to let me know before it was posted online.” Furthermore, Cinderella - written by The Crown star Emerald Fennell was due to welcome a new cast in the coming weeks. While many members of the current company were told in person, actors from the incoming cast complained that they were not informed at all. In a 164-minute video on Instagram, actress Summer Strallen discussed the situation in detail, saying that, while her agent received an email, she “basically got fired by social media, which is just not OK”.
She said she had had a wig fitting recently ahead of her taking over the role of The Queen from Rebecca Trehearn, and claimed she had only found out the show was cancelled when a friend sent her an article on Sunday.
