The recent research showing that television viewing is still in decline came as no real surprise. With some honourable exceptions, my description of it last week as "lunatic wallpaper" holds good far too often.

Coupled with that is the happy news, from my experience rather than research, that even the younger crowd are getting sick of the mechanically thumping music which dominates so many licensed premises.

Put the two together and you can explain why real live entertainment seems to be growing in popularity. This was well exemplified in Hartlepool where even the suggestion that the Town Hall Theatre might have to close for economic reasons was met with a public outcry. Happily, that idea is now dead in the water; the town deserves two theatres not none!

If you wanted proof of the appetite for real entertainment, you just had to be in the Town Hall Theatre last Friday night, as I was. The Meatloaf Story, starring lookalike Steve Steinman was on stage, and it was a full-blooded knockout show. A near-full house was right in the mood, and the night was a great mix of superb voices, great visuals, a fantastic band, and top humour. As well as Meatloaf, the music of Presley and Bonnie Tyler among others was stunningly portrayed. Steve has a mountain-sized voice and his sense of humour had the audience in tears.

This theatre is doing well with a very varied programme, and there's bound to be something coming up which suits your taste. Highlights due shortly include Rich Hall on stage next Wednesday (26th). His creation Otis Lee Crenshaw has had rave reviews, unusual for a red-neck jailbird from Tennessee who has been married seven times, all to women named Brenda! Just to show the range, that's sandwiched between a Music Hall evening on the 25th and Chas and Dave on the 27th. The week ends with a controversial all-woman production of A Clockwork Orange (29th).

However you define "culture" it seems clear to me that an availability of a range of theatre like that is a good sign of a town's vitality.

Published: 19/03/2003