Letter: Theatre of the absurd

Sir: Sir Denys Lasdun (Eye, 28 May) is right about the aesthetic misplacement of the bookshop at the "new" National Theatre, but it is also a devil for the audience to find. From outside the theatre it is highly visible (a goldfish bowl) but if you are circulating in the foyers it is a distant outcrop of grey concrete beyond the main entrance with one legend - BOOKSHOP - painted vertically from the floor, which is easy to spot if you are walking around with your head at an angle of 45 degrees to your body.

The old bookshop, with glass walls and in the middle of the ground-floor foyer, was a delight you came across as you had a drink or a coffee or paused to pass the time.

MONICA FERMAN

London NW6