TNAG-0645-FCO40-793-Employment-of-children-in-Hong-Kong-1977 — Page 34

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GREENWICH YOUNG PEOPLES THEATRE

Stage Centre

Burrage Road

Plumstead

London SE18 7JZ

Telephone 01 854 1316-855 4911

21st July 1977

Your ref: STK/SVS

The Commissioner,

Hong Kong Government Office,

6, Grafton Street,

LONDON W1X 3LB

Dear Mr. Kidd,

REF

Registered office:

Greenwich Young Peoples Theatre Ltd

13 Nevada Street

London SE10

Ry

By Eater in 14/1

MEDVED IN REGI PY

26 JULI 17

HKK 210/1

My Board has asked me to thank you for your letter of 12th July which it considered at a recent meeting.

While the Director of Greenwich Young Peoples Theatre and her company are given a large measure of independence in the development of their work, which includes theatre-in-education programmes such as "Empire Made" this Board accepts responsibility for the artistic policy of the company. The complaint you have made to us raises an important principle to which we have given, and shall continue to give, our serious attention. Clearly in a democratic society it is the function of education to encourage children to ask critical questions about the world in which they live; and yet we would accept that in an educational context it is essential to stimulate such questions by presenting material in a balanced manner that invites a reasoned and well-informed response rather than a prejudiced one. If, in either the performance or the accompanying Teachers' Notes, Empire Made has fallen short of this principle my Board would regret the fact as much as your Government and would endeavour to ensure that such imbalance did not occur again. It is because criticism of this kind has been expressed that I suggested to your Public Affairs Officer that we would be prepared to circulate material prepared by you to the schools concerned.

In conclusion may I add that my Board welcomes criticism, from whatever quarter, of programmes and material put out by the Company and again thank you for writing.

Yours sincerely,

Jaust Harland

Janet Harland

CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS

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