Letter: Hot ticket

Sir: I don't want to carp over Sean McConville's letter (9 July) about my review for you of the Bolshoi Ballet's La Bayadere, but I would hate anyone to think that "First Night" reports in this paper are other than the title suggests: an immediate reaction when the curtain falls. Anyone who has seen ballet rehearsals will know how misleading they can be, so I couldn't cheat even if I wanted to.

Sorry I disappointed Mr McConville by not including his points, but I judged that the Coliseum's lack of air conditioning is old news now, and that delays are sadly common in London theatres, so it seem better to use my allotted space to cover as much as possible about the performance itself.

JOHN PERCIVAL

London WC1