ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER - LLOYD WEBBER FEARS FOR FUTURE OF BRITISH THEATRE

SIR ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER has blasted UK media regulator Ofcom over plans to sell radio frequencies to the highest bidder - claiming theatres who use the essential technology would not be able to afford to use their own microphones. Last month (DEC06), Ofcom (Office Of Communications) announced that Britain's radio spectrum would be sold for any purpose in 2012 after the nation switches from analogue to digital television and radio. Stage productions in London's West End and around the country have relied on microphones to transmit better sound quality to theatre audiences since the 1970s. Under the new plans, Lord Lloyd-Webber believes theatres will be unable to afford a frequency for the actors and singers to speak and sing over, which could cause serious problems for the performance industry. The SOUND OF MUSIC creator says, "If wireless technology is sold off, the long and short of it would mean the end of musical theatre in this country. "If wireless microphones go, the quality of most modern performance goes with it - they are now an intrinsic part of every major show. "If mics went, it would be like going back to the musical equivalent of the Stone Age. (My company The Really Useful Group) would not be able to compete."