Amateur groups to stage first Lloyd Webber/Rice work before professionals

Published Tuesday 1 July 2008 at 18:05 by Daisy Owens

Performance rights for Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s first ever collaboration, The Likes of Us, are to become available to amateur companies ahead of any full professional production, under a landmark deal between the National Operatic and Dramatic Association and the Really Useful Group.

The musical, written more than 40 years ago, only received its world premiere in 2005 at the Sydmonton Festival and has never been performed on the West End stage.

Now, members of NODA - the main representative body for amateur theatre in the UK - will be licensed to perform the show on a first-come, first-served basis, prior to the show being released to professional companies and receiving a proposed West End production.

David Robinson, licensing manager for RUG, said: ” When the show was performed for the first time at the Sydmonton Festival in 2005, it became immediately apparent that the show truly is a lost gem. I am delighted to announce that prior to any professional release, RUG has agreed to release The Likes of Us to the UK amateur market just for NODA members. Any professional production is unlikely to be launched for some time to come.”

NODA chief executive Tony Gibbs described the move as a case of “professional and amateur theatre coming together”.

He said that content of The Likes of Us provided roles for adults and young people and added that NODA would be running training workshops starting in 2009 that will address the “performance and production skills” needed for the musical.

He said that The Likes of Us would form part of the NODA youth development strategy, which is being introduced to encourage young people around the country to get involved in amateur theatre.

NODA and RUG are also co-ordinating the production of official merchandise for any productions of the show, which Gibbs said would remove the “financial risk for members who will be able to access high quality products to supplement box office takings.”

At the launch of The Likes of Us today, amateur performers sang musical numbers from the show.

Speaking to The Stage afterwards, Rice said: “In all honesty, I think the tunes stand up better than the words. Andrew’s tunes are pretty good. Some of the words were OK, but it was the first go I had ever had at it - I had not tried it before. It was the first time I had written for theatre. It stands up OK.”

He added: “I understand that the amateur circuit is always short of good stuff to do, so the more they have, the merrier. This one is interesting because there is an awful lot you can do with it. It will be an interesting task for schools and amateurs to see how they can make it work.”

Speaking about whether he could see The Likes of Us opening in the West End, he said: “I would doubt that very much.”

Performance licences for amateur productions will be issued from September 1, 2008.