What can you do?

Asked what concerned members of the public can do if they discover a theatre in their locality is threatened, Ms Samuel suggest that in the first place they make use of social networks to discover whether an action group is already in existence to which they can add their voice.

They should write to key politicians, their MP and councillors, the CEO of involved owners and developers and insist on the importance of the building to their local community.

BTG readers will also already be aware of the “My Theatre Matters” campaign being conducted under the aegis of Equity, the TMA and The Stage.

That campaign, and the Trust itself, can help and Chenine Bhathens, the Greater London authority’s Senior Cultural Strategy Officer, suggested a lot could be learned from the organisers of campaigns that had been successful in how to proceed. Of course, each case differs but make use of the experience of others.