IF you're prepared to knock, you should also be ready to praise. So I'd like to praise Crown Productions, the new lessees of the St Helens Theatre Royal.

They've started the new season well. We witnessed an audience watching 'The Real Monty', enjoying themselves, having a good fun night out, without being censored by other people's beliefs and taste.

We saw the Royal back up and running as a proper professional theatre complete with licensed bar. And the new bar is really something to be proud of, an asset to both the theatre and the town.

The Theatre Royal deserves support from the people of St Helens and surrounding districts.

With this new management the Theatre Royal St Helens Trust have struck gold. Let's hope that they appreciate that the Royal has been given a reprieve, and support them to the full.

Gordon Pleasant and David D' Arby, Pantoworld Ltd., Manchester.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.