Lee Hall: Beached Ditched

'Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall has spent the past year working on an epic opera starring 300 schoolchildren. Now his backers have pulled out, in a bitter row over a character's sexuality'

The Guardian. The opera is called Beached - something that, unless I'm going blind, Lee Hall doesn't mention in the piece.
The irony is that the opera is about how the beach belongs to everyone...

"By last week, we had reached an impasse. The opera's main character is a gay, retired painter, and in one scene he is the victim of taunting. At the school's request, I agreed to tone down the violence of the language in this scene, but not the character's straightforward defence of his sexuality. Word came back from Opera North that, unless I removed the lines "I'm queer" and "I prefer a lad to a lass", the whole project was in jeopardy. (It was by now far too late to replace 300 schoolchildren.)
"The request seemed to come from an entirely different era. I thought there must be some mistake, and that Opera North would support me by finding a way around this completely outdated hysteria. I was amazed when they accepted the school's position. I was repeatedly asked to excise these references to the adult character being gay...
"I then offered to pay for Stonewall's education department, who work with 180 local authorities, to give workshops to the kids and parents, so any issues raised in the opera could be given a proper context. This was rejected by the local authority. On Saturday, I was told by email that the school has withdrawn and that Opera North are no longer able to maintain the project..."

This be the verse;
"Of course I'm queer/That's why I left here/So if you infer/That I prefer/A lad to a lass/ And I'm working class/I'd have to concur."

East Riding Council said this was "inappropriate for a performance featuring young children, with pupils participating aged four to 11". They seem to be saying the problem was about some of the language used - Hall's piece doesn't seem to rule this out.*

Update: A statement from Opera North;
"Opera North takes the view that regardless of whether we agree or not, we have to accept that the school, which includes its teaching staff and the governing body, is legally and morally within its rights, even encouraged within its ‘loco parentis’ status, to make its own judgement about when and how it introduces discussions about sexuality with its children, some of whom are as young as 5."
Oh do piss off!

* In an item on Radio 4's Front Row this evening the school issued a statement saying they had no problem with a character being gay, but rather "the language and tone" that was used.

UPDATE: Thursday am PROBLEM SOLVED! Opera to go ahead as planned
One change is to be made - the word "queer" is to be replaced by the word "gay".