Sir Cameron Mackintosh has once again spoken about the decline of London's West End, in a Radio Times article published Sept. 4.
For some time now, Mackintosh has been addressing the need for a cleaner, safer West End: "London is in a terrible, dowdy state. No other country in the world does everything in its power to stop the public from visiting its centre."
That it is possible to accomplish such an enormous task is evident in New York City. Times Square managed to improve its situation under the initiative of Mayor Rudolph Giuiani, but Mackintosh feels that the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, is not as capable as Giuliani in this respect.
Amongst all political parties there seems to be no plan, or proposal, to deal with the London's urban decay. Mackintosh says, "To hell with democracy. We need an absolute czar in London to say 'You will do this, and I don't care.' Ken Livingstone doesn't seem to be the one."
by Theatrenow