The National Theatre has canceled its planned performances of The Frogs, Stephen Sondheim's musical version of Aristophanes' play.

Due to be performed in concert form in November, it seems the show has been pulled because a fully staged version is to take place in New York in 2003.

Even when they take place on other sides of the Atlantic, "clashes" in scheduling of plays or musicals can be a problem, and the National has obviously decided, in what appears to be an amicable agreement, to back out.

A spokesperson for the National Theatre said: "We announced these concert performances in September but have now had to relinquish the rights to the piece in the light of a full production that is being planned for New York next year. Despite goodwill on all sides and great efforts made to resolve the situation, sadly we have been left with no alternative but to cancel our scheduled performances. We very much regret the disappointment caused."

—By Theatrenow