Hello there

I recently attended one of your performances of Hercules at Fleetwood PS. I am a casual teacher at the school and not writing on behalf of my organisation, but in a personal capacity.

I really enjoyed the show as did the children. However, I was extremely concerned at the inappropriate volume at which the show was conducted. I was obligated to sit through the nearly hour and a half performance and felt the noise level I was subjected to was in the unsafe decibel range at which hearing is damaged. I felt forced to block my ear that was facing towards the speaker for the whole performance but have still experienced ringing in my ears and muffled hearing for the next couple of days. I take my capacity to maintain my hearing for the long term very seriously and do not willingly put myself in positions where it is damaged so I was upset to be subjected to this unsafe situation. Other teachers and children were sitting much closer to the speakers than I was and I can only imagine how loud it was for them. I don’t think it is appropriate for children to be unwittingly put into this situation.

The show was run on floor level at our performing arts venue presumably because the stage is too small to accomodate everyone and therefore the actors and speakers were so close to, and almost intermingled with the audience. At such a venue I feel that the volume should be adjusted accordingly with the size of the room and not set for what seems like a full stage show where the stage and speakers can be set back from the audience. 
I would be pleased if you could take these issues into consideration at further performances particularly where children are involved.

Kind regards

Mary Alexander