Beginners Call

Beginners, please

Which of your cast need a performance licence?

Put in your show dates and each child’s other shows this year. Beginners Call counts the 4-day rule day by day, tells you who needs a licence, and the date to apply by. Free, and nothing you type leaves your browser.

Check your cast

Check your cast

Beginners Call is an information tool, not legal advice. It reads the law the way the Department for Education’s advice does, but your council makes the decision. If in doubt, ask them.

1 The show

Days with a performance

Untick dark days. Two shows on one day still count as one day.

Pick the first and last dates.

Is there a charge to watch, or is it on premises licensed for alcohol, or filmed for broadcast or streaming?

Ticketed shows, pubs, hotels, most theatres and anything streamed all count. A free show in a church hall that isn’t filmed doesn’t need a licence at all.

Is any child paid, beyond their expenses?

If so, every paid child needs a licence. No exemption applies.

Is the show arranged by a school?

Only a school that gives children their main education. Dance and stage schools don’t count.

Will any child miss school for it?

Weekday matinees and early calls in term time. A child missing school can’t rely on the 4-day rule.

Do you have a Body of Persons Approval (BOPA) for this show?

From the council where the show takes place. It covers the cast instead of individual licences.

2 The children

For each child, add the days they performed in other shows in the 6 months before (or will, before yours). Rehearsals don’t count; performances under a licence do.

3 Where the children live

Individual licences come from each child’s home council. A BOPA comes from the council where the show is.

How the 4-day rule works

  1. Count back 6 months from each day the child performs.
  2. Count the days they performed in that window, in any show, licensed or not.
  3. 3 or fewer? No licence needed for that day, as long as they aren’t paid and don’t miss school.
  4. 4 or more? They need a licence (or your show needs a BOPA). Apply at least 21 days ahead.

The 4-day rule in full, with the law

Free sheets for the stage door

A sign-in and sign-out register, a daily performance record with the times the regulations list, and a chaperone rota that keeps each chaperone to 12 children. Your cast’s names fill in from the checker.

Print the sheets

Want the full kit?

I’m deciding whether to build the rest: a cast list that tracks each child’s days across every show, a chaperone rota that won’t let you go over 12, and daily records on your phone. Leave your email and I’ll write once when it’s ready, or not at all if it isn’t built.