The composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has urged churches across the country to be fitted with Wi-Fi in a bid to make them a more integral part of the community.
The musical theatre writer also gushed about the star of his recently revived West End show Cats, the singer and former X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger, in a magazine interview.
Lloyd Webber, who sits as a Conservative member in the House of Lords, indicated that discussions over installing internet for the general public at churches have already taken place with the government.
He told the Mail on Sunday magazine Event: “I want to get every church in the country on Wi-Fi.
“Once you do that, the church becomes the centre of the community again. They should go back to the medieval traditions, which is that the nave of the church is always used for local businesses.
Asked who would fund the project, he said: “Well, I am going to get involved, but the government have indicated that they would pay for the idea of putting the Wi-Fi in.”
Lloyd Webber has given his record-breaking musical Cats a new lease of life after more than 10 years away from the West End. The London Palladium show reunites Lloyd Webber with the original team behind Cats, including director Trevor Nunn.
Speaking of Scherzinger, who plays Grizabella, he said: “She is what you might call an American theatre babe. I do believe she is the most exciting musical theatre artist I have found – well, that I have worked with – in very, very many years. I really do.
“I am hoping the reaction since the opening will lead her into thinking that maybe going into the theatre is the career for her.”
He added that Cats will also return to Broadway and that he “greatly hopes” Scherzinger would star in it.
The decision to rerun the show came after I Can’t Sing, Harry Hill’s X Factor musical, unexpectedly shut down after just two months at Lloyd Webber’s London Palladium theatre last year.
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