... Brenda or Bree, where are you? I am trying to make contact with an actress who worked at Liverpool Rep around 1949/50. Her real name was Brenda Horrocks but she used the stage name Bree Martin. I would be delighted to hear from anyone who knew her, knows her, or better still from Brenda herself. I can be contacted directly on 01983 752326, by fax on 01983 755633 or by e-mail on ...

... Highly satisfied Stage customer I was surprised, nay amazed, at the response to my previ ous letters. From all over the country I've received replies and information regarding my father (the late Harry Leader) and the Regent Ballroom Dance Bands (February 24, Heydays letters, page 1 1 People are obviously reading your excellent show- business newspaper from cover to cover, which is a great ...

... Theatres Trust there to protect, not preserve I can reassure your readers (News, July 27, page 4 and Letters, page 9) that there has been no change in policy at the Theatres Trust, and that there is no danger of us being taken over by unfriendly architects or property developers wno want to knock things down. But the Trust is not a preservation body it was set up by Parliament to pro tect ...

... Farnham rep deserves a theatre I recently saw one of the New Farnham Repertory Company's three produc tions, Lark Rise, which was produced and excellently per formed by a company filled with true ensemble spirit. The one downside, however, is that it has to perform in a hired mar quee, despite the fully equipped Redgrave Theatre standing empty just yards away. If its season is a success, ...

... Don't make arts funding a Lottery It is all very well to applaud Chris Smith's efforts to assist the arts with additional funding (News feature, August 3, page 5), but it is increasingly disturbing that long-term basic revenue funding has been replaced by the occasional saving of a theatre company out of Government slush funds as a political ploy. Now we have Chris Smith saying: the Arts ...

... Foot in the door I first began collecting theatri cal photographs and other mementoes at the age of ten. Now, 45 years on, I share my enthusiasm through a non commercial Web site. Footlight Notes, featuring celebrities of drama and popu lar entertainment from the 1 850s to the twentites. Find the site at: www.footlightnotes.com John Culme e-mail: john.culme libertysurf.co.uk ...

... Did you know Ronald Lewis? I am in the process of researching the life and career of actor Ronald Lewis and would be grateful for assis tance from anyone who may have worked with him or knew him. John Thacker 25 Beacon Way Rickmanswoth Herts WD3 7FF Heydays letters can also be found on The Stage's Web site at: www.thestage.co.uk ...

... Help mac turn 40 Midlands Arts Centre is about to experience two landmark events. In 2003 it will be 40 years since mac was estab lished due to the vision and determination of John English and his wife Alicia (Mollie) Randle. Originally known as The Midlands Arts Centre for Young People, the centre now has over 600,000 visitors per year. This November it is with much sadness but even more ...

... Gielgud's great theatrical legacy My great-uncle John was a really lovely man. He was a kind and generous person who was liked by everybody he knew. His family loved him, and we are going to miss him terribly. We are all left with many fond memories that we will cherish forever. The world will remember him primarily for his incredible contribution to the theatre, and many believe him to be the ...

... Wanted--a saviour of the Welsh arts scene It was with a deepening sense of gloom that I read of the undiplomatic arts flurries in Wales (News, October 12, page 4) and Mr Wallace's recent report on the horrid Arts Council of Wales. Wallace mentioned that he had not encountered anyone who had wanted total dissolution of the ACW. Well, he has evidently failed to talk to any writer or artist ...

... I'd sign for SAG So the Screen Actors' Guild has to all intents and purposes won its fight and retained its members' right to be paid for programmes and advertise ments per showing (Foreign news, October 19, page 9). I seem to remember, due to the dubious privilege afforded to us all by Thatcher banning the closed shop, resigning some years ago from Equity as a result of a pathetically- ...

... Fill the missing first night gaps I am writing to you on behalf of the president of the German Academy for Performing Arts. We are preparing an edition of reviews by a German critic who lived in Britain from 1935 to 1948 and need the dates of four premieres: Romeo and Juliet at the New Theatre in London. John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier performed. TS Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral at the ...