The big beasts, which have been taking booking galore – such as Moulin Rouge and Cabaret, clearly intended as long-runners – should be able to weather the storm. But it remains to be seen how those shows which have received middling reviews and weaker audiences will fare. In retrospect, the decision by producers of The Mirror and The Light not to extend into 2022 looks like a shrewd, if regrettable, move. 

But this upset has come just as Theatreland was starting to recover. Ticket sales in the West End have been surprisingly strong, Lloyd suggests. And according to producer Michael Harrison, who’s the chief executive of the UK’s leading panto company Crossroads Live, supervising 29 pantos, including the Palladium show – bookings have been healthy for a festive tradition that annually attracted 3 million punters.

“I have 10 pantos in tech this week. A lot of theatres were breathing a big sigh of relief. Christmas was looking quite solid. In Newcastle we opened last Tuesday with a bigger cash advance than we did before the pandemic. Pausing for any kind of time on limited runs is difficult. It causes huge problems, everyone would get into trouble.”

At the moment, he is trying to stay upbeat. “People are still buying tickets. I’m looking at the daily business at the Palladium, and the appetite is still there. But time will soon tell.” A particular anxiety in the regions is the evaporation of school parties. “The mixed messaging is scary for schools,” he continues. “They don’t know what to do. I’m hearing they want to bring the kids, but they want to do the right thing. If one authority decides against school trips, it tends to have a knock-on effect.”

By way of example, Louise Chantal, artistic director of the Oxford Playhouse, which opens its production of Robin Hood today, is seeing attendees peeling away. “We’ve had people ringing up to cancel their bookings. Not many so far – mainly schools, about two a day, every day this past week. Most people are crediting their account for next year rather than asking for refunds, but of course that will have an impact on next year’s bottom line.”