Theatre-goers from all over the Westcountry are being urged to make their feelings known over the Arts Council's proposal to withdraw its annual grant to the Northcott Theatre.

Devon County Council, which issued the plea, described the sudden decision to withdraw the £540,000 grant from 2009 as "a pantomime".

Now it's asking people around the region to voice their disgust to Arts Council England ahead of its board meeting later this month.

County Councillor Sheila Hobden, spokeswoman for culture, said: "Our shock is still palpable but we must group together and do all we can now to lobby the Arts Council in the hope it will not go ahead and ratify this decision in January.

"We will be working together with the City Council and the University of Exeter to make our feelings known.

"The Arts Council's plan is like something out of a pantomime - allowing us and other funding partners to give hundreds of thousands of pounds of support to ensure the Northcott's future and then withdrawing this grant.

Sheila Hobden, Devon County Council: "The Arts Council's plan is like something out of a pantomime - allowing us and other funding partners to give hundreds of thousands of pounds of support to ensure the Northcott's future and then withdrawing this grant."

"We are urging people throughout the South West to make their views known to Arts Council England before we lose this wonderful asset to our county's cultural life."

The Northcott Theatre received the bad news on the eve of re-opening after a year of closure during which it underwent a £2.1m redevelopment, work which was funded by Devon County Council, The Arts Council, Exeter City Council and the University of Exeter.

The Arts Council put £100,000 of its own money into the redevelopment of the Northcott Theatre.

The theatre, which is a cultural cornerstone for Exeter and the wider county, needed the financial help to fund essential works necessary to comply with health and safety and to increase capacity.

"We took our decision to invest in the theatre's refurbishment after we had reassurance of the Arts Council's backing," said Cllr Hobden.

Her views were shared by Cllr John Hart, shadow leader of the council, who said: "The county council has invested a lot of money into something that we were assured was ongoing. The Arts Council is wrong to pull the plug at this time. We should try to get a stay of execution to allow the new Northcott a new opportunity."

The Arts Council said it wrote to the Northcott Theatre in January 2007 detailing concerns about the operation of the theatre, including its artistic policy and the viability of its development project.

A significant proportion of the Northcott's audience comes from outside Exeter and the theatre supports a wide range of outreach work including a community writing project in Devon villages and theatre workshops for young people from across the county.

A final decision will be taken by the Regional Arts Council on January 21, and the Northcott Theatre has the opportunity to appeal against the recommendation by January 15.

Fifty-eight staff stand to lose their jobs if the plan goes ahead.

Expressions of support can be sent via email to: savethenorthcott@exeternorthcott.co.uk, or in writing to: Save Exeter Northcott Campaign, Northcott Theatre, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QB.