From Jayne Bell:-I AM saddened by the news of the proposed closure of the Wirral Youth Theatre's base at the Glenda Jackson Theatre, Birkenhead.

I began at a youth theatre in 1988 at the age of 14 and decided to get involved in the technical side of the youth theatre, learning many skills from stage management to theatre electrics. I have never had any formal training apart from the youth theatre.

In 1991 I began work at Liverpool Playhouse as trainee electrician and I am now the touring electrician on the National tour of 'Blood Brothers'. I owe a lot of this to the training that I received from the youth theatre.

If the youth theatre has to leave Glenda Jackson Theatre then they will lose the ability to train up young technicians and will no longer be able to give the performers the best possible technical support.

Many of the youth theatre members have gone on to work professionally both as performers and as technicians and I know a lot of them owe their success to starting their theatrical life at the youth theatre. I feel that it is a shame that the young people on the Wirral will lose out on the valuable service that the youth theatre has provided for so many years.

Prenton Dell Road, Prenton

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.