Andrew Lloyd Webber raises half a million dollars for the Actor's Fund by streaming his shows online

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber reflected on the six shows that he'd streamed for free on a live chat on YouTube last night.

For the last month and a half, Lloyd Webber has been presenting his musicals online for 24 or 48 hours, appealing for audiences to donate while they watch.

Chatting from his piano as the streamed production of Cats (which is available until 7pm Saturday in the UK, he said: "Thank you for so generously donating – we've raised half a million dollars for the Actor's Fund."

He went on to say: "I hope you realise that theatre will always be there. It will come back. I didn't think we'd be locked down for so long, I'm afraid it might be a bit longer yet. But you can't get rid of me – I'll be back doing various things, maybe I'll do a little bit from my new Cinderella. Thank you for watching, particularly those of you that got through By Jeeves.

"Goodbye, give generously and thank you."

Lloyd Webber's West End venues are currently closed, with Theatre Royal Drury Lane scheduled to reopen with the West End premiere of Frozen, while his own new musical Cinderella, starring Carrie Hope Fletcher, will have its first previews at the end of October.