I consciously integrate sustainable making practices into all my work. I grew up in the Suffolk countryside, which gave me a deep-rooted appreciation for nature and the natural world. I feel an urgent need to preserve it for current and future generations to experience, and learn from. The collective, experiential nature of theatre feels the perfect place to explore this.
In 2022, I led Brave Mirror in committing to the guidelines of the Theatre Green Book. All our shows since then have worked to the baseline or intermediate standard. In 2024, we unsuccessfully applied for Arts Council Funding to begin an enquiry into how the small scale sector of the theatre industry can contribute to the essential road to net zero, and work with education providers to do so. This is a strategy I would be keen to develop further, and welcome hearing from individuals and organisations who are also interested in this and would like to collaborate.
From 2023-24 I worked with the St Paul’s School Drama Department, helping them develop a sustainability strategy. This involved integrating the Theatre Green Book into academic and co-curricular work within the department. This taught me a lot about the potential for secondary education providers to be involved in sustainable theatre making practice, and the importance of seeding this early in creative’s careers. I shared my findings at the Theatre Green Book Education Conference in June 2024, including advice for secondary school teachers wanting to integrate the Green Book into their work. I’d hope for this to be a pilot for further, similar work in the future, and would love to hear from secondary education providers to discuss future opportunities.