THE Theatre Royal is charging £7.50 early booking for the panto. This is wrong. For immediate bookings you have to pay £7.50 to become a 'star' and then buy tickets for three shows to become a 'superstar' at a further £7.50 a ticket.

If you don't buy the tickets, you can still book in early June but you still have to pay £7.50. If you don't want, or can't afford, to be a 'star' you can book a month later.

In the past regular panto-goers had the chance to book early without charge.

The panto is a family show. The three discounted shows are not. In the Theatre Royals own words Dead Funny "contains nudity, swearing... and is definitely not for the easily offended."

Off Piaff they say: "This extraordinary tale contains swearing and scenes of a sexual nature."

And Loot is "an outrageous comedy" with a psychopath and a bent copper.

How many people will want to take their children to see such shows?

The theatre should not ignore the next generation of theatre-goers in this way. At least one of the productions should be a family show if, as the box office staff have told me, the idea behind this scheme is to encourage loyalty to the theatre, not just the panto.

Ruth McKelvey,

Meadow Way, Tadcaster.

Updated: 10:57 Friday, April 19, 2002