'I mourned my theatre career but found my calling'

Former theatre professionals and actors who stepped away from the stage after lockdown have been reflecting on how their lives have changed five years on.

Theatres in the West End and around the UK closed down shows on 16 March 2020, a week before the first national lockdown - a day that has since become known as Dark Monday.

Lily Cooper, 32, from Hackney, was an actor who also worked front of house at London's Almeida Theatre, and was waiting to hear back from a "dream" theatre audition.

Ms Cooper, who now works in a children's hospital, said she had had an "out of body experience" because of the "horrifying realisation" she might never act again, adding: "It was really, really terrible."

Acting had been so "intrinsic" to her identity since she was about 11 years old she struggled when the industry shut down, she said.

"We didn't know at that point if theatres would ever return," she said. "I asked myself 'Who am I without this":[]}