THEATRE BOOKING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 172, 19 January 1912, Page 8

THEATRE BOOKING.

To the Editor. Sir, —It is about time some definite stand was taken by New Plymouth residents to combat the absurd conditions prevailing over theatre booking. The: preference given to country over town | has no warranty in common sense, besides which the system is consistently abused. It is well known that a great part, probably half, ■ these Country •orders are not bona fide, but represent seats obtained by country residents, not for themselves, but for town clients who are too lazy to rise early or possess too' much "tone" to rub shoulders with quite ordinary citizens in the' queue. The queue this, morning was a small one, but all' even fairly good seats were gone before three-quarters of those composing it reached the box plan, "country" orders, of course; but why the client who writes an<order. f -frorii' the country and thinks no more about it should re-i ceive preference, ovei; the townsman who' stands in the queue from six to seven a.m. is hard to understand. Why not limit country orders to say forty (I doubt very much if bona' fide orders for Hamlet amount to so many), and allot certain rows of good and medium seats for such. This, I believe, would meet country clients fairly, and townspeople could not reasonably take any objection to such a system. At present rural residents and "dead heads" have choice of seats.—l am, efcc., , BOX PLAN.