I am sorry Keith Shepherd, chairman of the Brighton Theatre Group and others feel so aggrieved at my review of Mack and Mabel at the Theatre Royal.

Certainly the review was robust but it was fair and contained my honest opinion about the show.

I have been reviewing theatre and musical events, both amateur and professional, in and around Brighton for many years, dishing out praise for what I have found to be good and condemning those productions I have found to be below par.

Although my passion is opera, I have enjoyed many, many musicals and I attend all shows with the highest of expectations.

Amateur productions do serve the community well, often putting on shows which otherwise might not be seen outside London and the big cities.

But when they venture into a professional theatre, charging professional theatre prices, they deserve to be criticised if they get things wrong.

Mr Shepherd claims I insulted theatre staff.

What I said was that in addition to the audience chattering loudly during the overture, staff at the Theatre Royal were also at fault for showing late-comers to their seats while the overture was playing.

Mike Howard

-Editor's comment: This correspondence is now closed.