Theatre's struggle with locked bailout funds and the death of panto

The battle to save our theatres continues to face mounting problems and for many venues both money and time is running out.
We learnt at the weekend that none of the £1.57 billion bailout promised to the arts sector has yet been paid to any English theatres.
The government blames the complexity of releasing the funds but frankly it should have thought about that before making its initial headline-grabbing announcement.
In the meantime most theatres remain dark and the few that are bravely experimenting with low-key socially distanced productions are almost without exception doing so at a loss.
The desperate situation the theatre world finds itself in was highlighted last week when hundreds of protestors, including pantomime dames, descended on Parliament Square.
They had processed through the West End to protest about the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The ‘Panto Parade’ was organised by arts union Bectu. It demanded support for theatre workers and called for a subsidised ticketing system for shows.
The wider point they were making was of course that this year’s panto season - a financial lifeline for many theatres - is effectively dead.
In another portent of doom it was announced that the reopening of The Mousetrap was being postponed indefinitely.  The apparently indestructible Agatha Christie whodunnit has survived in the West End for nearly 70 years. Surely it cannot be allowed to be felled by the pandemic.