Paul Iles, who died in 2011, was Associate Director at Richmond's Georgian Theatre Royal for more than 10 years.

BBC: The Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond

Barbara Matthews, the Arts Council England's director of theatre, cites Chichester Festival Theatre in West Sussex as one example of a venue that has made the most of its resources.

BBC: Are regional theatres at risk?

But when I awoke, to see the puppet von Trapp children gathered on puppet Maria's puppet bed, I thought back to what the theatre's managing director had said, backstage, in amongst the delicately carved and painted marionettes.

BBC: Today