a year ago theatres in england closed their doors because of the pandemic. in that time the theatre world has lost income of around 200 million pounds. many theatre workers are freelancers and a quarter of them have gone out of business. our arts editor will gompertz has spoken to four performers who ve had to change jobs to make ends meet. music: there s no business like showbusiness theatre, one of the great success stories of britain s creative industries but this time last year the bright lights of the west end went dark. theatreland s professionals suddenly found themselves unemployed and needing a plan b. i am a freelance and as well as the show, i also do a range of other kinds of playing such as concerts and recording sessions and tourism things like that. as well as the show closing, all of that went up in smoke. so all of your income has disappeared? yes, exactly. these guys here were looking for an extra pair of hands and they kindly agreed to take me on. in fact