Anyone who knows me will know that I have a love of musical theatre; I get the same thrill out of the West End as a child on a trip to Disneyland, who's been promised free ice cream and all the Mickey Mouse hugs they want! Top of my list is The Phantom of the Opera, a hauntingly beautiful story with intriguing characters and music that never fails to move me...so the arrival of Love Never Dies, a sequel to Andrew Lloyd Webber's original musical, was an exciting and very welcome addition to the stage. It is a show that boasts a stunning cast, spellbinding sets and visual effects and full-blooded, passionate music, so it was hardly surprising when it was nominated for 'Best New Musical' in the 2011 Whatsonstage Awards.
It seems that not everyone agreed however.
There is a group on Twitter called LoveShouldDie who sent me this particularly lovely little message:
"Conveniently the WOS Awards is sponsored by The Really Useful Group. No wonder Love Never Dies has been nominated!'
For those not in the know, The Really Useful Group is a theatre production company owned by the genius who is Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber. The insinuation that this was a factor in the musical's nomination was one that I thought to be rather mean-spirited in nature and of course, completely unfounded! I responded to this effect in defence of a sublime show that is very worthy of being nominated, and so began a heated debate. Yes, I probably should have just ignored their small-minded comments, but being the stubborn and opinionated person that I am, I plunged into the stormy sea of contention brandishing my flaming sword!
Now I know there has been some divided views over the show; most loved it but naturally, it didn't appeal to everyone, nor did I expect it to. You can never please everyone... I encourage the right to have your own opinion and respect the freedom of expression. It was Voltaire who said, 'I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it'. Even though I fell completely in love with everything about Love Never Dies, those who disliked it are perfectly entitled to say so.
This group on Twitter are very vocal in their dislike of the show. That however, is not the issue that I have with them. Having an opinion and expressing it is one thing, but to make a deliberate effort to spread words of hate is a totally different matter! To actively campaign against the show and urge people to shun it, attempting to influence those who have yet to form their own opinion, is nothing more than malicious, petty spite in MY opinion. Their efforts simply highlight their ignorance and are an insult to all the talented people who have, and continue to work hard on the show, from the cast and crew to the creators, 'The Lord' in particular.
Unfortunately, groups such as these are becoming commonplace in todays society. The internet provides a platform for people to spew their abuse and intolerance without having to witness the harm their words may cause. Some of the comments I have seen on discussion boards, posted on Twitter and Facebook pages, written in blogs...well, I find them disgusting frankly, and have to wonder what is wrong with some of these people? Just because the words are being typed on a keyboard instead of being spoken out loud, does NOT make it okay! We would never condone the despicable preachings of terrorists, we turned in shame from Nick Griffin's racist 'policies' and we didn't stand up and applaud Mel Gibson in his obnoxious rantings (take your pick of them...), so why should it be tolerated online? The internet is a public forum and what you post on it is there for everyone to see. We live in troubled times and messages such as the one LoveShouldDie are putting out there achieve nothing except in spreading negativity, which is hardly productive in making our world a better place.
So I am asking that we focus our efforts not on negativity, but positivity instead. Offer a compliment instead of an insult, produce a smile instead of a frown, reach out with love instead of striking out in anger...and to LoveShouldDie I say this; give people the freedom to go and watch the show and make up their own minds about it, rather than try to poison their thoughts in advance. If you don't like the show, simply don't go and see it - there's no need for anything else.
Remember, love, create, inspire!
Miss Julie xxx
