It’s a great disappointment for any school to rehearse a play or musical only to find that the planned performance has run into a financial or legal brick wall. The Methuen Amateur Theatre Handbook should help you avoid such disasters. Written by an experienced producer who’s also a solicitor, it covers dozens of potential hazards such as public entertainment licences, the health and safety of lighting crews and stagehands, the operation of pyrotechnics and gunfire, and the vexed question of copyright, including the use of recordings. Practical advice on budgets and scheduling accompanies the judicial expertise. The Methuen Amateur Theatre Handbook by Keith Arrowsmith is published by Methuen and costs pound;12.99 from bookshops.