Amateur distrust

Published Tuesday 26 June 2007 at 13:05

I applaud Stagecoach’s initiative (News, June 21, front page), although understandably their main concern seems to be with the difficulties which the licensing regime puts in the way of children wanting experience on the professional stage. However, many of their students will also be interested in the amateur stage, where in a sense the situation is even worse.

I believe that the original legislation, decades ago, was designed with the laudable aims of preventing exploitation of children for commercial ends and ensuring that their education was not interrupted. Unfortunately, it has been hijacked into much wider child protection issues, where health and safety issues and paedophilia are assumed to lurk ignored around every corner.

I have considerable experience of administration and stage management of large-scale amateur musicals, where the burden of the legislation is such that many societies now have a policy of not casting under 16s where this can possibly be avoided. This deprives youngsters of perhaps their most likely source of early performance experience which might have lead to a lifelong interest in theatre and in some cases into adult professional careers.

In terms of health and safety, it is sometimes true that children may be less risk-aware than their elders, but I have worked with many adults who also show an alarming (but less predictable) lack of understanding of the particular dangers of stage work and as a stage manager I always assume the worst. I do not wish to endanger anyone of any age and if anyone was injured, I would be no less mortified if my victim was an adult rather than a child.

In terms of chaperoning, dressing room and toilet facilities etc, the assumption of the authorities seems to be that theatrical people are different from the common herd and - without any evidence of which I am aware - disproportionately prone to at least latent paedophile tendencies. On the contrary, the sense of community within most amateur companies is such that all but the cleverest oddballs are soon noticed and kept an eye on, quite apart from the fact that the often cramped, crowded and uncomfortable conditions backstage, to say nothing of the stress of the job in hand, would surely deter even the most enthusiastic molester who would simply await his opportunity elsewhere on another occasion. There is not even any relaxation in the rules where, as often happens, a child’s parent is also in the company and it is not unknown for even a parent or school teacher to be quizzed by the local authority as to their suitability to chaperone.

Surely there are more pressing risks on which council manpower should be spent?

Andrew Pryce

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