I consider myself lucky as an actor to have plied my trade just after the demise of ‘weekly rep’ (where theatres would have company of actors playing one show at night and rehearsing next week’s play during the days).

Those were the days when learning the lines and not bumping into the furniture were just about all you could reasonably hope for. That is how the generation before mine earned their spurs and jolly hard work it was. 

When I dipped my toes into the footlights, repertory theatres were mainly two or three weekly turn rounds and that was tough enough if you had a decent sized part in every play.

And I timed my semi-retirement well too. Today there are very few plays on at regional theatres any more.

The venues know that they have a better chance of filling the seats with ‘one-nighters’, musicals and tribute bands.

Running a theatre today is tough, especially in the regions, when second guessing what show might get us away from Netflix and Sky and into town centres at night is problematic.

Pantomime used to be a guaranteed box office banker that supported the leaner months, but during my thirty year participation in that most British of seasonal entertainments, I have seen the run or performances reduced from eight or nine weeks down to three.

In fact it is very much a case of December only now.

I confess I find it quite an effort myself to forsake the warmth and comfort of my home and satellite television to brave the elements and very often endure seats probably even uncomfortable for the slenderer lighter citizens who occupied them when most theatres were built. But I invariably enjoy it.

And theatre owners really should work harder to make it as easy and comfortable as possible. 

When you book seats for a show and suddenly are unable to attend, theatres that are only half full should have no problem switching your seats to the next night (and making a small charge for doing so).

But simply refusing to help in any way, I discovered this week, seems to be the policy at a venue which is part of the biggest theatre company in the UK (not Wycombe or Aylesbury our excellent venues).

In an industry that is fighting for survival helping the customer should be more highly valued.