$colname = $HTTP_POST_VARS['slt_area']
$colname2 = $HTTP_POST_VARS['name']
$query = "SELECT theatre, location, address, phone FROM loaded_theatres";
$query_where = " WHERE location = 'colname'"
if($colname2!="")
$query_where .= " AND theatre = '$colname2'";
$query = $query.$query_where;
print($query); // to check if its fine
also im assuming the name variable in the form refers to the variable theatre in the table ...
reg
kevin