One despairs that such a daft idea as partitioning off part of the Regent to create a medium-sized theatre could gain traction.
The Regent's a great theatre - unsurpassed for such as ballet and large-scale modern operatic productions.
But it is not a theatre for more restricted repertoire.
It is not just a question of capacity but also of volume of space, size of stage relative to restricted viewing area, cost effectiveness to hire and provide scenery for and of all-important ambience.
And the whole space would presumably still have to be heated and lit.
There is also an argument - in a community theatre context - revolving around the number of paying seats that are required to generate sufficient income to pay for the authentic resources that the repertoire calls for, while giving performers a long enough run to justify their intensive rehearsal time.
And, of course, if the Regent were to be committed to a restricted booking, it could not be used by a large booking at the same time, which would be crazy at times of arts festivals when competing events are often staged simultaneously.
Many of us have been asking for action on a new facility that fits the bill.
Cr Andrew Noone is reported as saying no theatre fits the bill.
Of course none does, otherwise we would not have been wasting our time asking for something new.
But Peter Entwisle (ODT, 14.5.09) may just have a point.
The old His Majesty's is more modest in size, still largely there and may be workable with a sympathetic facelift.
That is worth exploring.
Michael Andrewes
• In recognition of the importance of readers' contribution to the letters page, the newspaper each week selects a Letter of the Week, with a book prize courtesy of Dunedin publisher Longacre Press.
This week's winner is Michael Andrewes, of Dunedin, for his letter criticising the suggestion of partitioning the Regent Theatre, published yesterday.
He receives a copy of Fleur Beale's Sins of the Father, Longacre Press, $29.99.
