... Spotlight on Skills is a basis for the future We write to express our concern at the extremely negative slant given in The Stage to the report Spotlight on Skills, jointly commissioned by SOLT and BECTU in association with Metier (December 23, News, Front page). It appears that your reporter has simply trawled the report looking for all the negative aspects while ignoring the positive ones. ...

... Thanks for all those memories Thursday, November 18, 1999 was the 163rd birthday of Sir William Schwenck Gilbert, and on that date I was privileged to present my solo entertainment, A Disagreeable Man?, the story of WS Gilbert and AS Sullivan, at the Horsham Arts Centre for the last time in 1999. During the past year, I have been engaged to present the piece on 37 occasions in a wide ...

... In your interview with Dom Joly (December 9, Write Attitude, page 29) it was claimed that he was once a political reporter at ITN. and that he was sacked for getting his friends to ruin face to face interviews with eminent politicians Wrong on each count, I'm afraid. Firstly, Joly enjoyed a brief spell at ITN. employed as a freelance political producer. He was never a political reporter ...

... Future imperfect We have opened up a hornet's nest in Scarborough by suggesting that, if the town's Futurist Theatre is to close, the Opera House should be reopened as the best venue for touring and summer shows (December 23, News, page 4). But I was not previously aware that the Futurist started its life as a fiat-floored hall with a platform at one end. I am afraid that your correspondent ...

... Background and lifestyle have nothing to do with acting roles Having read 'Glossing over the ugly truth' (April 6, Broadside, page 25), I feel moved to write in response. As one example to illustrate his point, OIlie Wilson says he feels that actress Debra Stephenson was not well cast in ITV's Bad Girls. He says that, in his opinion, she did not look the part which is fair enough but then adds ...

... Three curtain calls for our culture secretary I join Alexa Baracaia in giving three cheers for Chris Smith (News Feature August3. page5). The first cheer is for get ting the largest increase for the arts ever. If the announcement was spun a little it was nothing com pared to the unbelievable Tory announcement that spending on the arts increased 35 per cent above inflation during that party's ...

... Dot com casting will survive the Net's burst bubble Your articles about the positive and negative sides of the Internet, particularly on-line casting, were very interesting (News Feature, July 27, page 6 and Leader, July 27, page 8). However, one ought to look beyond the quoted statistic of 75 per cent of dot corns going bust within two years. I have no doubt that a successful casting ...

... Simon's hall of fame was right on the money I really must compliment Simon Blumenfeld on his excellent appreciation of American Jewish comedians (Heydays, July 27, page 1 1 His list of funnymen mirrors almost exactly what 1 would have compiled give or take a Red Buttons here and a Joan Rivers there and serves to remind us all of the remarkable contribution to humour made by these heroes. The ...

... Our campaign against demolition is justified May I, as a Westminster resident who has worked at the Westminster Theatre, a former Friend of the Theatres Trust, and vicechair of Save London's Theatres, reply to Peter Longman (Letters, August 17, page 7)? Although Mr Longman states that there is no dan ger of [the Theatres Trust] being taken over by archi tects or property deve lopers ...

... Well done Pyne, nice try Tierney I wish to offer my congratulations to Freddie Pyne on his victory in the recent Equity elections. Yet again he has proved to be a popular chap and seemed to win a resounding victory. Well done. My congratulations aiso, and perhaps more so, have to go to Malcolm Tierney, who for the past few months has been doing a lot of campaign ing, using some rather old- ...

... Two sides to stories of Hollyoaks auditions I'm sorry Paul Cooke (Letters, July 20, page 9) is angry about the way he thinks we conducted the recent open casting sessions for Hollyoaks. However, his anger is probably only matched by my own at the way this venture has been misreported in some sections of the Press. I have never said and would never say how little talent there is in the ...

... Replacement theatres no substitute We read with interest 'Row brewing over Westminster Theatre' (News, July 6, page 2) and a letter from Simon Anderson (Letters, July 6, page 9) and also a report by Jeremy Austin on the Mermaid Theatre (News April 27, page 2). Both the Westminster and Mermaid Theatres are threat ened with demolition. Small so-called replacements are being promised ...