Sir,

You may be interested to read my report on my visit to the De Valence Pavilion last Friday.

Last summer, while on holiday in Saundersfoot, I read with interest a letter in the Observer written by council representative Nicky Lloyd.

In the letter, he expressed utter dismay with the poor turnout for the Boogie Nights band who had recently played at the De Valence Pavilion.

A plea was also made for people living in South Pembrokeshire to support future events at this venue.

I have recently moved and now live in Saundersfoot. During a recent visit to Tenby, my wife and I read the poster outside the pavilion which was headed 'West End Stars in Concert'.

We read how four West End stars were going to appear and sing a selection of songs from a number of popular musicals. The show was to be fronted by Peter Karrie, a singer who is well known in this area. There was even a picture on the poster of the masked phantom with Christine in his arms. We booked tickets for the concert and were surprised to find that no seats were allocated. A first come first served system is used at this venue.

On the night of the concert, I suggested that we should arrive at the pavilion well before the 7.30 pm start as we did not have any reserved seats. We arrived at the De Valence at 6.55 pm and were amazed to find that the rest of the audience had the same idea.

There was a queue which stretched from the pavilion up towards Fecci's Coffee Shop. We joined the queue and waited for about 20 minutes. During this wait we noticed a second branch of the queue forming. This was made by people coming up the road to the pavilion. These people were actually pushing in front of the people who were waiting in the main queue and adding even more congestion outside the foyer.

After several attempts, the main doors were opened and we were able to join the back of the queue of people who were already jammed in the foyer. During this time, disabled people in wheelchairs were correctly allowed through. These were immediately followed by people who saw this as a chance to jump the queue. I personally saw groups of people leave the main queue to follow the wheelchairs in. A man in front of me turned and said "organised chaos."

At last we were moving and at a surprising rate, the reason for which was answered when we reached the main auditorium. When we entered the theatre area there was no one in attendance to take our tickets. People were just streaming into the theatre unrestricted.

Anybody who was just passing at the time could have walked in. One member of my party, who had just purchased a ticket, turned and walked a few paces into the theatre. He asked me: "What have I bought this for?"

The show started late and the performance suffered continual interruptions through problems with the sound system. There were no props throughout the show, just a black backcloth, not even the famous mask displayed outside.

A lady who was sitting next to me commented: "It's like a dress rehearsal."

Peter Karrie was the only West End star to appear during this half of the concert.

When the interval came, one of my friends went over to the sound man, who was close to us, and asked him if the other three West End stars were going to appear during the second half of the concert. He was taken back by this man's reply.

He was told that no other stars would be performing, as this was a different show to the one advertised. This show was called 'Peter Karrie and Friends' and not 'West End Stars'.

He went on to say that Peter was annoyed when he arrived at the venue to find that the wrong posters and tickets had been issued.

Peter Karrie is an excellent singer who held the show together, but he was not part of the show advertised.

Before the second half started, Peter came back on stage to announce that there would be a delay as the sound system was not working.

To get back to my comment about Nicky Lloyd's letter, while I agree with everything that was written with regard to supporting the De Valence Pavilion, how can the people of South Pembrokeshire book with confidence at this venue if mistakes such as this are allowed to happen? Surely it is little trouble to stick a few row letters and seat numbers to prevent the chaos and and scramble outside. I always thought a visit to a theatre should be relaxing and not a stressful event.

The De Valence needs to 'get its act together'.

Mr. B. Tooth, Saundersfoot.