AFTER 14 remarkable years Stagecoach Youth Theatre looked to have taken its last curtain call. A collective failure of imagination by councillors was forcing the company to bow out.

Then, in a twist worthy of a Victorian melodrama, it emerged that a saviour was waiting in the wings. Businessman Angus King stepped into the spotlight clutching a donation large enough to secure the theatre's immediate future. Mr King's generosity deserves the highest critical acclaim. His intervention is another example of a community asset saved by people power after the authorities dithered.

York City was saved by the fans, York's municipal baths were saved by the swimmers, and now York's most prolific youth company is saved by an act of pure

theatre. Bravo!

Updated: 11:01 Wednesday, January 18, 2006