[WOS Manchester]

WOS Manchester has undergone a major change in terms of layout. You can see the great results at www.whatsonstage.com/manchester. We also have more reviewers, so we are continuing to bring you the best of Manchester's theatre scene. Take a look and let us know what you think.

Regards,

Glenn Meads
WOS Manchester

[Ian Hornby]

Hi

As well as being a local playwright, I am a member of a small amateur theatre company near Lymm. As with most theatres, putting bums on seats is a problem (so is acting membership), so a while back I had an idea - whether this is the right placeto air it I do not know; apologies if not - I'm new to these boards.

The idea was to create a "newsletter" (what, another newsletter?) that theatre groups, pro and amateur, subscribe to. It would be run at cost and, provided email/website were the delivery media, could be done for next to nothing. The simple thinking behind this is for each group to contribute details of their productions. All "member" groups then learn about the performances put on by other member groups. One assumes that if you're inolved in theatre, then you probably want to go and watch theatre, so it just has to sell more tickets. It could be as simple as that, or it could go on to have a free-adverts section where people could advertise costume/props/scripts wanted/for loan. Or even "actors wanted/available".

I tried an email with the proposal to all local theatre groups I could find. I got 4 replies, 3 of them positive, and nothing at all from the professional theatre - don't they need to sell more seats? All in all, it wasn't worth proceeding, but surely there has to be a need?