Pop star Taylor Swift has responded to the last-ditch plea of a Sydney theatre company by granting them permission to Shake It Off.
Belvoir Theatre appealed to the singer when they were denied the rights to use the song for their play Seventeen, due to open on Wednesday night.
Theatre director Anne-Louise Sarks tweeted Swift with the hashtag "greygrey4taytay" as the production is about actors aged in their 70s, including Barry Otto, playing 17-year-olds on their last night of school.
"I'm facing an artistic emergency I hope you can help with," Ms Sarks posted on Tuesday morning.
The chart-topping tune was to provide a pivotal moment for the show.
But just as the cast had the choreography down-pat, the theatre was told they couldn't use the song.
"Is there anything at all you can do?!!" pleaded Ms Sarks.
One swift tweet later, the actors were dancing in celebration.
"Permission granted. Good luck with your opening night," Swift wrote back.
The cast of Seventeen, which inculded veteran Australian actor Barry Otto, were excited with their social media result.
"We are so excited we sent a thing direct to Taylor thanking her, so yeah overwhelmed," said Otto.
