... Banking on support SIR, I am at the moment compiling a report on the relationship between the bank manager and the artist. (By artist I mean people connected to show busi ness, e.g. entertainers, dancers, actors etc.). I would gratefully receive any stories, anecdotes, and hear about any experi ences that you may have encountered with the bank or bank manager. Replies please in writing or on ...

... 'It's not quite so murky, Mindy' SIR, The letter from Mindy Leigh which appeared in the January 7 issue (Look out for Liverpool) sought to correct an inaccurate statement attri buted to Merseyside Arts in respect of Merseyside Film Institute funding. Un fortunately, the letter added further inaccuracies and I would now seek the opportunity to set the record straight. MFIT has received 1 ,500 ...

... And a kick on the shin SIR, It was with a certain amount of surprise that I read your review of the pantomime at the Charnwood Theatre/ Loughborough Town Hall, which began; 'Immediately before an amateur pro duction of Cinderella, the staff of Loughborough Town Hall has sup ported a professional production of the same pantomime.' One wonders where your critic got her facts from, since no such ...

... Channel Theatre Company buoyant SIR, I am writing to correct the falsi impression given by an article writtei by Bill Evans in your February 2'. edition headlined Hope sinks fo Channel Theatre. 'Hope' for Channe Theatre is far from 'sinking'. You article fails to point out that it is ou Community and Theatre-in-Educatioi work which is under threat of closuri not our main repertory and ...

... By the by it's a bi-monthly SIR, After many odd encounters with the press, one had drawn the conclusion that, whether benevolent or scathing, their treatment of Transgender matters would be extreme, derisory and full of false assumptions. This has not been my experience of Stage, and your Chit Chat columnist coverage of our magazine, 4.2.88. was a welcome breath of fresh air! This is only one ...

... Forget all arty crafty rubbish SIR, Once again we have to read that various 'legitimate' theatre administra tors/directors are complaining about their state subsidies, when are these people going to stop whingeing on about how much money the should or should not receive? They should be only too grateful that they receive any money at all. Variety has NEVER received sup port from the state ...

... Student report SIR, I have compiled a full report on the 33rd Sunday Times National Stu dent Drama Festival (Cambridge April 7-14) which I will be glad to send to any Stage reader, free, on receipt of an sae. Researchers, in particular, might also like to know that I can make available copies of the NSDF souvenir program me for most years, as well as many thousands of photographs. Clive Wolfe ...

... End card-sharps free-for-all SIR,--I was absolutely infuriated when I read in the national press this week that Derek Hatton had been handed his Equity card. For what, may I ask--a few public appearances, which apparently qualify him to be an actor!! What the hell are Equity playing at and what exactly are all the acting schools doing allowing this sort of thing to happen. The schools ...

... Resist this threat to our theatres SIR,--Reporting our concern over proposed changes in the planning laws (July 17), you quote a Department of the Environment spokesman as saying that it is already possible to change the use of a theatre without planning permission ana mat tne present categ ory is quite vague, (referring) to theatres, cinemas, concert halls, music halls etcetera. No ...

... Those in glass houses? SIR,--Your article on the front page of The Stage (July 17), headed Strike A Light, was at best misleading and at worst mischievous, but this is not surprising when you relied almost tirely on the comments of Julia Whiteoak. In the interests of the man agement and staff of his theatre, who found the article distressing, I wish to put the record straight. The get-in ...

... More fame for Mike Douglas SIR, I refer to your piece (July 24) in which your correspondent says that I disputed comedian Mike Douglas' claim that more TV appearances were promised following his spot on the Fame Game. Your reporter did not mention Mike Douglas during our telephone con versation, otherwise, I could have said that he appeared in no less than five of the seven shows in The ...

... Mishon accomplished SIR, On behalf of the four hundred people who gave their time, energy and enthusiasm to bring about the Charity Gala performance of Mack Mabel at the Aldwych Theatre in London on July 1 1984, I would like the record put straight that Barry Mishon 's proposed one-night charity concert is not the first time in the show's history that it has appeared in Britain. I am sure that ...