When this is all over, Andrew Lloyd Webber may well be seen as the saviour of theatre

He says his production of ‘Cinderella’ will open today come hell or high water, and if the government wants to arrest him, so be it, theatres must be saved. David Lister reports

Lloyd Webber: a man with a plan (PA)

Two occasions when I came into contact with Andrew Lloyd Webber gave me an insight into a man, who is, not for the first time, becoming the most important figure in British theatre.

The first occurred when as an arts journalist on the Independent, I chaired the Arts Correspondents Group. I invited Lloyd Webber to our monthly lunch and sat next to him as he conversed with, and took questions from, the assembled group. It was a surprising experience. The hugely successful, multi-millionaire composer, theatre owner and impresario was shy and nervy, visibly sweating.

A few days after the event I received a letter from him, advising me how I could improve proceedings. At the time, Lloyd Webber had, rather oddly, closed down his hit musical Sunset Boulevard, rethought it and opened it up again. I rather cheekily replied to his letter, saying that he was not going to close down the Arts Correspondents Group and have it re-open with his preferred changes.