ROSALIE CUTHBERT

housed the Old Beneficial School for poor boys, pre-dating the better known John Pounds School in Old Portsmouth.

Quite apart from the artistic merit of the shows put on there, it is vital this building is preserved and put on the map of small museums in the city. It has merit as an establishment documenting the earliest days of education in the city.

As well as being involved in many productions over the years, it has also been my privilege to be involved in researching the history of the Old Benny, as it was known, and personally have met many of the ex pupils, as it remained a school until 1962

Only a stone’s throw from the Dockyard gates, and within easy reach of Gunwharf Quays, yet tucked away in the back streets of Portsea, it really is a hidden gem. Yet many Portsmouth residents still do not know where it is.

Back to the Christmas Pantomime, which for most theatres is the most important source of annual income, which sustains them for a good part of the year. It really is a pity that the Kings cannot be more supportive of its smaller neighbour, having once been under threat itself.

There has always been a code of chivalry amongst the Portsmouth theatres whereby they have a rolling programme of pantomimes, so that a clash like this does not happen.

It is not the first time this has happened. Two years ago, when Groundlings put on Cinderella, so too did the Kings, even though it was not on their rolling programme list for that year, and so too did Ferneham Hall. Where was the choice for the public? People only have so much money to spend and three Cinderellas in the area does not give much choice at all.

The Kings has the advantage of securing a £3m grant from the council, while Groundlings has recently acquired charity status, under the newly-formed Groundlings Theatre Trust, and needs all the help it can get to survive.

With the current situation being what it is, with all theatres being under threat, surely the Kings could do the decent thing, and help a smaller theatre to survive. There is still time for the Kings to change its panto.

Purbrook Gardens, Waterlooville