Having just spent a thoroughly enjoyable and thought-provoking evening at York Theatre Royal watching Kate Atkinson's excellent play, Abandonment, I cannot let Margaret Lawson's letter (April 26) pass without comment.

The play explored every nuance of the word, from the utter sense of "abandonment" felt by an adopted child rejected at birth, to the headlong rush into a new lover's arms as morals were abandoned in favour of a few moments of passion.

It was much more than mere "fun", though there was plenty in its frequently-humorous dialogue.

Many of us enjoy going to the theatre to experience wider and deeper emotions than "fun" and I experienced plenty of those throughout this play.

Every character "abandoned" someone or some value and, in turn, they experienced "abandonment" in some particular way.

The one thing we can agree on was the quality of the acting - first class. It was Margaret's last paragraph which I found particularly bleak. York needs a venue for high-class serious theatre which explores all aspects of drama.

For Mrs Lawson to call for more light entertainment and an abandonment of real drama in the pursuit of "fun", shows a lack of understanding of the role of theatre in today's complex world.

Roger Holdsworth,

Springwood

Updated: 12:19 Tuesday, April 29, 2003