Homintern
Sir: Your Vespa vulgaris (or should it be crabro?), Will Waspe, arrived in time to sting the corpses of Noel Coward and Hugh Beaumont before the coffinlids were shut on them; but in every other respect he is at least fifteen years too late. Beaumont's influence on the theatre may, indeed, once have been all-pervasive, but in recent years, the influence of the National Theatre, the Royal Court and the Royal Shakespeare has been far more potent, and in none of those institutions has the Homintern exerted a domination — indeed, at the National one of the presiding oligarchy has always been known to be robustly antihomosexual.
Peter Cotes may, indeed, have been the victim of Beaumont's malignity; but how does that explain why he has never (if I recollect rightly) directed a play for the three organisations listed above?
The truth is that, wherever there is artistic activity, there will be homosexuals around — as there will also be Jews; and sadly there will also be people like Will Waspe around to buzz that "their numbers and influence . . . are absurdly disproportionate to their numbers and importance in society in general." This is as silly as to say that the numbers and influence of alcoholics in journalism are absurdly disproportionate to their numbers and importance in society in general. Francis King 19 Gordon Place, London W8
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