... Admirable I consider Cinderella an admirable popular family television viewing item. Be sides, did we not have the pleasure of Fonteyn dancing in our sitting-rooms? More strength to Granada's elbow, then, to produce more but not too many carefully selected ballets for popular consumption. It really does not matter how much television demands change the format, once the Art is de monstrated ...

... CIVIC THEATRE CIR. A report in The Times of May 14 throws a disturbing light on the way in which the theatre may be affected by the see-saw of party politics. When the Nottingham City Council decided to spend £300,000 on building a civic theatre the Council was under Labour control. Bfore the recent municipal elec tions the local Conservatives appar ently announced that if they acquired ...

... CIR, Your editorial on Restric- k-' ted Entry contains information so inaccurate as to make nonsense of your central argument. The resolution passed at the An nual General Meeting of Equity does NOT say that new members shall be restricted to those who have completed a defined term with recognised repertory companies, etc. On the contrary, it suggests that entry in the field of repertory shall ...

... is no valid or logical argu ment against it. If there is, we have yet to see it. I should have thought it was obvious to everyone, though appar ently not to Hugh Cross, that if, over the years, you limit the num ber of people coming into the pro fession you eventually will benefit everyone, including the over 40s I: won't happen in a coupic of years, but no one claimed it would. If he is so ...

... WHY NOT LOOK AT SCHOOLS? 1 REGRET that in your interesting paper you do not find space to men tion the excellent pro grammes on School Television. Many wonderful actors and actresses appear on both channels, but never a men tion of their performances appears. This must be very disappoiniing for them. I will declare my own in terest at once. I have scripted two programmes for A-R's Books To ...

... THE YOUNG AFFAIR SIR,--Margaret Cowan's column (March 10 issue) contained a reference to the effect that Ron Rowson with David Henley will produce The Young Affair for the Grade Organisation witb Cliff Richard and Pier Angeh Since producing Serious Charge my company have had Cliff Richard under contract for his sole and exclusive film services for a film this year to be followed by a ...

... IN-THE-ROUND SIR, In your references to pioneers of Theatre-in-the- Round in this country, I am sur prised you have overlooked John English and his touring Arena Theatre, which 1 believe was the first professional effort of this kind in England. This charming horse-shoe shaped theatre with its semi-circular curtain track seems to me to retain a lot of the advantages of the proscenium stage, ...

... 'PHONEY' DEAR SIR,-- I am one of the phoney provincial critics that Mr. Lawrence, author of the ill-fated Meet Mr. Tombs, talks so disparagingly about. in nis letter, ivir. i.awrence brackets his own play with Aunt Edwina which also came to Bristol and was. in my opinion, infinitely better, and states that we phonies made the mistake of taking a comedy seriously. In fact, the one thing it ...

... LIGHTING SIR.--My attention has been drawn to a statement in a letter about modern lighting developments that you published last week, to the effect that acting area floods--not a very accurate description-- owe nothing in design or application to the German theatre inac- cin might intciesi iIk>sc of vour tedders who follow these technical matters to have thr is the further s have a w;iv ...

... 'BACHELOR FLAT SIR,--While every writer of a first play must expect a possible failure, as the author of Bachelor Flat I must express my horrified astonishment at the defiling, destructive, malicious, personaily maligning, pointedly vicious pens of the critics of the London daily papers Before David Pelham acquired the rights to the play many manage ments were interested, and one leading ...

... It goes further, James O'Toole JAMES OTOOLE'S comment on well-groomed commercial Mums, prompts me to say this is only one example of the way Commercials fall down on realism. Detergent spots are notorious for this especially when it comes to kitchens. They ALL imply that EVERY kitchen is large, light and full of modern equipment, including, of course, a washing wchine. Why aren't some of these ...

... AMERICANS MAR METHOD AND IT'S NOT FAIR I DO not envy Michael Joseph his effort to explain and establish in this country a style of acting which has had so much nonsense written about it. Americans coined the word method for the Stanislavsky System, but their interpretation of it is marred by mannerisms which have provided critics, satirists and frightened classical actors with endless copy. ...