I recently bought tickets for two shows at the Towngate Theatre in Basildon. The first were for We’ll Meet Again for my parents and the second for a puppet show for my wife to take our children.

My parents loved their show and raved about all the stars from yesteryear the actors were impersonating.

The cast received a standing ovation.

However, my wife’s expperience of the puppet show in the Mirren Studio was quite different. The same two hand puppets hardly moving and miming for 20 minutes to a CD of Abba tracks and Joseph’s Technicolor Dreamcoat made up the first half of the show, after which the majority of the audience including my wife and children left.

To its credit, the Towngate issued a full refund, probably to most of the audience, as there was a queue of people waiting to complain after my wife.

I hope in the future the theatre will vet acts.

John Worsley
Sparrows Herne
Basildon