The actor Samuel West, who chairs the National Campaign for the Arts, said freelance theatre workers had seen “their professional livelihoods crash over a cliff.”

“I don’t think this should be reduced to a fight between buildings and people but we have got to do something. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if they think the arts are shows and not people. They’re not. Theatres are not buildings, they are the people who work in them and the people who go and see the shows.”