THEATRE ROYAL MANAGEMENT.

Waikato Times, Volume 89, Issue 13892, 18 October 1918, Page 6

THEATRE ROYAL MANAGEMENT.

(To Ihe I uiitor.) Sir,—l am not surprised that your correspondent, Sydney Tombs, should seek to cover his managerial shortcomings in a personal diatribe against myself in bis letter appearing in your issue of the IGth inst. He "flatly denies" looking on with seeming (?) indifference; by the way, Mr Editor, the expression I used was "smug indifference." 1 should be glad if Mr Tombs will allow my expression tn stand just as I employed it. I speak of the situation exactly as I found it on the evening of the 10th inst. His charge that 1 "used my elbows aad shouted out abuse" is one which 1 should like to hear corroborated by vne of the many who were there. I absolutely deny the charge. I will admit, however, that on being liberated from the human press and finding myself in close proximity to the manager, I took the opportunity of giving him my views concerning his methed of managing the crowd outside the ticket box. He claims that he did his utmost to reduce the inconvenience the public were subjected to, etc. His effort in this direction may have been made after 7.T>O p.m., when the seating accommodation of the building was fully taxed; it certainly was not made before. The crux of the whole position lies in the lamentably weak admission: "The house management on the occasion referred to had been entirely taken out of my hands." Ye gods, what next! The money necessary for the Theatre Royal enterprises, £20,000, has been provided by the shareholders, and the main source of revenue must come from the patrons of the theatres. It is obvious, therefore, that the convenience of the latter should be of paramount importance to the management, and particularly to the shareholders. Yet it would appear, on Mr Tombs' own admission, that when called upon to do so he is quite prepared to hand over the entire management of the Theatre Royal to any lay committee which may or may not know anything about the proper method of control. Strange, but true. The concluding theme of Sydney Tombs' discourse, though highly irrelevant, is really beautiful. The protecting arm of the manager encirj'ing the directorate with dove like solicitude is a picture just a wee bit out of place with present day commercial practice. For your correspondent's information, I should like to stale that the Second Division League achieved what it set out to attain. Personally I am proud of my connection with tne movement. At any rate, what I did in that direction, whether successful or otherwise, represented my best effort. No man can do more. Some are content to do less.—l am, etc., JOHN McKINNON. Hamilton, October 17, 1918.