Andrew Lloyd Webber

The Sound of Musicals, Channel 4 - TV Review

In this episode of Channel 4's backstage documentary The Sound of Musicals (the second of four), we followed the fortunes of two producers at very different stages in their respective careers.

The Feral Beast: Nick Serota's loofah, the luck of Lloyd Webber,

The groovy revamped Tate Britain opens on Tuesday, and there's an all-day party to celebrate on Saturday, with Hot Chip on the decks. What a different scene would have greeted you only a couple of years ago. One of the biggest changes is the opening of The Grand Saloon, a first-floor room overlooking the Thames. For years it has been divided into offices, one of which was the director Sir Nicholas Serota's private bathroom, complete with tub and loofah. Sadly, I gather the bath has now been thrown out with the bathwater. "I can confirm that Nick has had a bath in there," says a spokesman when I call, "but he moved offices some time ago, and it hadn't been used for a while." Sir Nicholas is chairman of the Turner Prize jury. Surely "Tate director bathing" is an installation we'd all pay to see?

Coffee machine's starring role in search for Jesus

His ability to transform water into wine is well known, but the Bible tells us less about his coffee-making abilities. Which is perhaps why Jesus Christ will endorse the Magnifica bean-to-cup cappuccino coffee maker as ITV offers brands the chance to embed their products in its new search to find a West End star.

Jesus Christ ... Salesman? TV show to plug coffee-maker

His ability to transform water into wine is well known. But now Jesus Christ will endorse the Magnifica bean-to-cup cappuccino coffee maker as ITV offers brands the chance to embed their products in its new search to find a West End star.

Johannes Heesters: Actor dogged by his Nazi associations

The Dutch-born entertainer Johannes Heesters, who made his name performing in Germany and was dogged later by controversy over his Nazi-era past, died on 24 December at the age of 108. Born in the Netherlands on 5 December 1903, Heesters made his stage debut on the big stage at the Volksoper in Vienna in 1934. His career took off in Berlin where, he became a crowd favourite at the Komische Oper and Admiralspalast. He gained fame appearing in films such as Die Leuchter des Kaisers [The Emperor's Candlesticks] and Das Hofkonzert [The Court Concert].

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