LAST week I took my two children, aged nine and five, and a friend’s daughter to the Theatre Royal Brighton production of Annie. My nine-year-old son has special needs and when the show started he was saying “home”, “daddy” and “sleep” – sometimes signing – plus he wanted to go to the toilet so at a suitable point I took him.

When we came out I asked the usher if I could go down to the two seater box so my son wouldn’t disturb people near where we were sitting, to which she agreed. We had to go to the toilet again near the end of the first half.

At the interval the other children joined us and at this point a lady sitting near us proceeded to say my son was annoying her as he was fidgeting the whole time and it was off-putting, plus she had spent good money on the tickets. I apologised and told her he was a special-needs child. The lady replied: “A special-needs child should not be here.”

I couldn’t believe it and told this lady it was a children’s production during the school holidays.

A member of staff, who turned out to be the theatre manager, kindly agreed to put us in the royal box, of all places.

I would like to thank him for turning an unpleasant experience into a real treat.

The lady who thinks a special-needs child shouldn’t go to the theatre is very narrow minded and needs to get a life.

Sarah Luxford
Hertford Road, Brighton