Notebook was, it thinks, the first to point out that there is something seriously wrong with the publicly funded BBC using prime-time television to promote West End musicals under the guise of reality casting shows — the latest of which is I’d Do Anything, which is looking for performers for the revival of Lionel Bart’s Oliver!.
So please forgive Notebook for basking in the warm glow of justification now that Kevin Spacey has joined in, calling the practice unfair. Spacey sent his complaint to the BBC chairman Sir Michael Lyons, but has apparently received no reply, which is the kind of arrogance executives can only learn at the British Airways school of management.As the Old Vic’s artistic director, Spacey has shown more bravery in his programming than a skip full of BBC execs who, fearful of their jobs, consistently trot out shows that lack enough depth to be called shallow.
We’re not giving undue prominence to West End producers like Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Weber is their cry, neglecting to say how much prominence is due.