6 SEPTEMBER 1986, Page 20

Porno-dramaturge

Sir: I see that Richard West names Ken- neth Tynan (`Brum Bruin', 30 August), the `porno-dramaturge', as being with others responsible in the swinging Sixties for the present decline of Birmingham. It would therefore come as no surprise to Mr West to read the following in Tynan's introduc- tion to his collected dramatic criticism: `Stratford-on-Avon . . was near enough to, yet far enough from, home to be the ideal place for Birmingham teenagers to take girls: the Memorial Theatre was in- cidental to Stratford's over-riding virtue, which was that there were no trains home after the show.' Was nothing sacred to this embodiment of the 'Hollywood of hard- core porn'?

Julian Hope

17 Wetherby Gardens, London SW5