The Stage

Chit Chat - We didn’t write the rules

Published Monday 30 April 2007 at 15:05 by Tabard

A certain impresario, who for reasons to become apparent will remain nameless, has been mouthing off in the press this week - most notably on Vanessa Feltz’s BBC London radio show - about not being able to advertise in the back pages of The Stage for auditions for a boy band he is looking to set up.

According to said producer, he was told that he wasn’t able to put in the advert he wanted because it was “ageist and sexist”, specifying males and the ages he was looking for. According to darling Vanessa, he is “fuming.”

Now, without wanting to cast any doubts on anybody’s versions of events, Tabard feels that this might be a good opportunity to put the whole mess into some context.

Firstly, when placing an advert anywhere, one can’t ask for specific ages, it contravenes the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations. Instead, one must specify playing ages, which let’s be honest is hardly a huge leap of faith and probably more useful. Not even The Stage, somewhat unfortunately, is above the law.

Advertising for ‘boy’ bands or ‘girl’ bands, however, is perfectly fine.

Even a casual perusal of The Stage’s advertising section will show that.

Indeed, it was in those prestigious ads pages that the Spice Girls - a girl band if ever there was one - were discovered.

So where this little tit-bit comes from, God (or maybe Vanessa) knows.

It’s all a bit of a publicity storm in a tea cup and one that Vanessa “it’s political correctness gone mad” Feltz seems to have fallen for hook, line and sinker.

It’s also amusing to note that the producer in question (who I shall refrain from naming, because it would give him and his band more free publicity) was “fuming”, according to Ms Feltz.

It’s amusing because the agency which he employed to place the advert in question, which did indeed run in the paper in a slightly altered form, were so pleased with the service they received, they sent a bottle of wine to the Stage offices to say thank you. I for one am not convinced that bottle was sent in anger.

Still, I suppose Vanessa knows best. After all, Ms Feltz must have heard all about hiring suitable performers. Wasn’t it her legendary TV show that was axed by the Beeb after it was discovered that actors had been employed to stand in as real guests? Tabard wonders whether age and sex was specified when they were being hired.