 September 00, 0000 at 0:00 am | Reply  Algie Moncrieff Dear Stephen, I am extremely alarmed by the concept of the operating theatre. I do not want to discover at some time in the future that Richard III is performing brain surgery on my girl-friend. My serious question is: don't you agree that comedy for the most part is a defence mechanism for people to avoid confronting their fears? I know it is in my case. September 00, 0000 at 0:00 am | Reply  Algie Moncrieff Dear Stephen, I am extremely alarmed by the concept of the operating theatre. I do not want to discover at some time in the future that Richard III is performing brain surgery on my girl-friend. My serious question is: don't you agree that comedy for the most part is a defence mechanism for people to avoid confronting their fears? I know it is in my case. 