East Side Story.

There was supposed to be a kind of nod to West Side Story at this year's prom, which is a big music occasion on BBC TV. The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, to give it the correct title but known to us all as the proms; they come from The Albert Hall or, as the Americans say, Albert Hall – without the definite article.

I don't watch every one but quite a few especially if there is something by Philip Glass; but I like traditionalists to: Mozart, Shostakovitch etc – one of the greatest concerts was when we were at The Los Angeles Philharmonic to a Shostakovitch concert; we took our daughter and husband and they happen to be going to one of the proms this year.

But getting back to West Side Story which is based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet where the family Montague and the family Capulet are traditionally in logger heads against each other. Romeo and Juliet are the issues of each family, Romeo being a Montague and Juliet a Capulet.

An American soprano was booked to sing Tonight at The Albert Hall but after a few objections she withdrew. 

Objections? 

She wasn't Puerto Rican.

I don't know how many Puerto Rican opera singers live in Britain let alone sopranos and as it was only to sing some songs from the musical I don't think there should be any ethnic qualification. Maybe not even to do the whole production, I don't know. The music and book are American written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.

Originally it was going to be called East Side Story and it would have been between two New York gans: the Irish and the Jews – of New York, of course. 

Bernstein and Sondheim were both Jewish but eventually went for New York white gang (The Jets) and the Puerto Rican gang (The Sharks) – I'm not looking things up so I hope I've got them the right way around. 

They were both street gangs, a bit like The Bloods (African American) and The Crips (The homies), and that's what substituted for the families Montague and Capulet.

When I first started as an actor I was taught that I would have to play all kinds of ethnicities, dialects and accents and maybe be required to fatten up (with a fat suit) – a lot of people do when they play Sir Toby Belch for instance even though I have never seen anything reference to his weight or shape in the text.

The fact that Maria, in West Side Story, is from Puerto Rica doesn't mean that a singer has to come from there to qualify to sing the song.

Surely I'm allowed to sing I Belong to Glasgow, Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty or Born in the USA without having to come from there.

It's the same with the magical pronouns in popular song – he, she, him, her – it doesn't matter what sex you are you can sing what you like; you don't have to change the words. 

Let me sing Danny Boy without having to deny that I'm gay or pretending to be a woman.

Don't spoil the language people – it's the greatest language on earth; you don't hear the French arguing over the use of the word actrice or acteur. But they do over here!