Last Saturday I attended the 7 p.m. performance of the Grande Serata all'Operetta at the Catholic Institute in Floriana. It was an exceedingly pleasant and enjoyable evening. My congratulations go to the organisers and the performers for the level achieved.

I was, though, very much annoyed and disturbed by the fact that the safety levels at the theatre were literally non-existent on the night of this performance. Nobody seems to have taken the bother to make a safety risk assessment of the theatre prior to the performance. The main aisle was blocked by a platform which was being used by a camera crew member who was filming the performance, leaving barely 15 centimetres on each side for a person to pass through. Also, the main entrance was blocked by a similar platform rendering the escape route two thirds of the intended size.

I wish to ask those responsible to reflect on what the consequences would have been had an alarm been sounded. The audience being made up of senior citizens, the problem of evacuation would have already been very difficult with the existent escape routes. One can only imagine what the outcome would have been given the obstacles along the escape routes.