'Oliver' pupils win stage rights

THE WEST END theatre impresario Cameron Mackintosh has backtracked on his ban on school productions of the musical Oliver, after a report in the Independent highlighted the disappointment this had caused hundreds of schoolchildren.

Schools in the London area, and sometimes nation-wide, are refused licences from the owners of the rights to stage shows that are in the West End, even though it is doubtful that parents who see a school production will automatically be put off seeing the same show in a West End theatre.

Mr Mackintosh's production of Oliver, with Jonathan Pryce as Fagin, opens at the London Palladium in November, but 30 schools that applied last September to put on Oliver found out only in the last few weeks, after months of rehearsals, that licences would not be granted. Mr Mackintosh had asked the owners of the rights to withdraw amateur licences.

At St Aloysisus Junior School in Camden, north London, children had learnt their parts, made the costumes and designed the sets.

Yesterday, Mr Mackintosh, while not granting licences to all schools that wish to put on the show, said that schools that had applied before this week would now be allowed to stage it on school premises.

His head of business, James Wilcox, said: 'Cameron Mackintosh said that he was distressed that the children at St Aloysius were the innocent victims of the school proceeding to rehearse without a licence. He discussed the situation with Musicscope, who administer the licensing of amateur rights, and it emerged that 30 schools had applied to stage the show, and it was decided to lift the ban. The children are also being invited to see the show at the Palladium as Cameron Mackintosh's guests.'

Mrs Frances Hughes, headteacher at St Aloysius, said: 'The children will be really excited - they were very disappointed and although we were trying to find an alternative show it was proving difficult.'