FESTIVAL HALL EXHIBITIONS
SIR,—Pharos has himself given the neatest explana- tion of why access to the Exhibition Suite in the Royal Festival Hall is restricted to concert patrons. Geographically, it is as integral a part of the concert hall as 'A Spectator's Notebook' is an integral part of the Spectator.
Even if it were practicable (which I can assure Pharos it is not) to dispense with ticket control at the main foyer level, we could not, without con- travening the public safety regulations and the laws of physics, admit two audiences to an area designed for the comfort of one. That is why, until the hall is completed and the Exhibition Suite made into a separate area, such exhibitions as are held there must be regarded as an ancillary amenity for the concert patron.
To the best of my knowledge, the same 'ridiculous' rule applies to all other concert halls and opera houses. No one expects to enjoy the ambulatory areas of the Vienna and Paris Opera Houses unless they are attending the opera.—Yours faithfully, T. E. BEAN
Royal Festival Hall, SEI
[Pharos writes: 'I was not asking to be allowed to "enjoy the ambulatory area" of the Festival Hall: all I wanted was to be allowed to enjoy an art exhibition without paying for a scat for a concert. Nor was I suggesting that two audiences should be admitted to an area designed for the comfort of one : an art exhibition can presumably be open to the public at a time of day when concert audiences arc not being catered for. I must take Mr. Bean's word for it that this is impracticable; but I cannot agree that it is justifiable in theory. The exhibition deserved attention in its own right; there is no analogy with the displays that are sometimes put on in theatres or opera houses for the casual enter- tainment of patrons during intervals. 'And if Mr. Bean really believes that the Festival Hall should he sacred to concert-goers, why are winers and diners allowed in without buying concert tickets? '—Editor„Spectator.]
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