Quotes of the week, July 8: Sonia Friedman, Indhu Rubasungham, Andrew Lloyd Webber and more

“This is such welcome news from the government – at last, a glimpse of hope for a sector brought to its knees. We now have an opportunity to not only move to recovery, but to reset, challenge and change to make sure we are better, bolder and revitalised as we look after every moving part that constitutes our complex and deeply interdependent ecosystem.”– Indhu Rubasingham, Kiln Theatre artistic director (Guardian)

“The days ahead will need more detail on what, how, when and for who... and the road ahead is surely still a very difficult one for our sector. But the forecast does look a lot brighter for all who work in it tonight.” – Royal and Derngate artistic director James Dacre (Twitter)

“Thank you to everyone in the arts and in our audiences who tweeted, signed petitions, wrote letters to MPs and made the case to #SaveTheArtsUK. And thank you to the many people who have negotiated this publicly and privately for four exhausting months. It worked.” – Jermyn Street artistic director Tom Littler (Twitter)

“We have to get better at the long fight. That doesn’t mean not celebrating triumphs along the way, but I’m embarrassed to see people praising / thanking our government for the scraps we’ve been thrown when they’re literally defunding the arts and cultural sectors right in front of our eyes.” – Producer Tobi Kyeremateng (Twitter)

“This is welcome news, but we are running out of time. This lifeline will come too late for some organisations who have already been forced to close their doors for good or made valued employees redundant. While we await precise details of the funding mechanisms, I would remind government that the priority now must be to get these much-needed funds to the organisations most at risk – and fast.” – Lowry chief executive Julia Fawcett (Guardian)

“This historic fiscal support recognises that the arts are not an added extra, but a national necessity that enrich all our lives. As a sector, we can now begin mapping out our respective paths to the reopening, recovery and renewal of our glorious theatre industry. We stand ready to open our doors, as soon it is safe to do so, that we might reflect on the traumas we’ve endured and dream up an almighty celebration on the other side of this.” – Producer Sonia Friedman (Evening Standard)