Beverley Knight, who is nominated for best actress in a musical for The Drifters Girl, said it was an “indescribable feeling” to return to the Olivier Awards after such a difficult period for live theatre.
She told PA: “We have been bereft of theatre for so long, just had nothing, and people only realise the importance of the place that theatre and live entertainment played in any society when it was taken away.
“Then everyone was like ‘Oh, that’s what they do, that’s why it’s important’. So to be back to celebrate, it is incredible.”
She added: “We bring in multi-millions and that’s week in week out. So we are part of giving the economy buoyancy, but more than that, we feed the nation’s soul.
“How many people struggling with their mental health over the past two years turned to streaming services, whether it be music, or watching films, or documentaries or whatever?
“That’s what we do. That is our job, that’s where we step in. We are a night of escapism for so many people, whilst provoking people, getting them to think and entertaining them.”
On Lambeth bridge, hundreds of protesters prevented cars and buses from crossing. However, they allowed ambulances to pass, with organisers parting the crowd by shouting “blue light”. The protest had a festival atmosphere, with speakers playing dance music, and a stall handing out free pasta and falafel. It comes as Green Party MP Caroline Lucas has said some Extinction Rebellion protests are counterproductive but their disruptive actions are the “only way […]
