CONGRATULATIONS to all those who took part in Takeover 14, especially the young people for whom the Theatre Royal provides an invaluable opportunity to develop their talents.

We went on the opening night when there was a real buzz in the foyer, with the ukulele band setting the pace.

The lively, informal atmosphere continued in the theatre, where Lipservice gave us a laugh a minute and led an enthusiastic amateur chorus of all ages.

For me, the only discordant note came at the end when they passed the bucket round to help pay for improvements.

Given the reasonable price of seats and the excellent entertainment, I was only too happy to contribute.

But it made me angry to think that at a time when four times as much money per head is spent on the arts in London as elsewhere, the Theatre Royal has to beg for half a million pounds, a sum that wouldn’t keep the lights on at Covent Garden for a week.

If the London theatre wants its future Judi Denchs and Mark Addys, they should support a fairer distribution of the funds available for investment in the arts.

Martin Bartlett, Scarcroft Road, York.