Sustainability Statement.

A commitment to the environment, and to its many more-than-human inhabitants, is at the heart of what we do. While the ‘greenest production is the one not staged’, Shakespeare’s theatre offers a vital space for reimagining our relationship with the living world. We are therefore committed to reducing material impact while heightening the conceptual and felt impact of performance.

Reducing Negative Material Impacts

While recognising production impact, we are mindful of energy use and technical practices, transport and logistics, material lifecycles, costume and wardrobe specifics, water use and waste management and partnerships.

Steps to continually improve our practices include:

Reducing or eliminating the need for built stages and new sets
Working with existing and found environments as performance spaces
Designing productions with reuse, disassembly, and future adaptation in mind
Continuing to upcycle and recycle costumes, props, and materials across productions
Prioritising natural fibres and low-impact materials in costume and design where possible
Avoiding fast-fashion purchases for production
Prioritising low-impact, resource-conscious production methods
Using low-energy lighting and sound equipment where possible
Minimising generator use and favouring renewable energy sources where available
Minimising local, domestic, and international travel where possible, and carbon-offsetting where not
Encouraging shared and low-impact transport for cast and crew, including carpooling
Prioritising local artists, collaborators, and suppliers to reduce travel demand
Reducing printed materials, while recognising that digital platforms also carry environmental costs
Minimising water use across production processes where possible
Reducing single-use materials across rehearsals and performances
Supporting responsible waste management, including recycling and composting where possible
Responsibly disposing of, repurposing, or rehoming materials at the end of a production’s life
Offering accessible public transport information for audiences
Encouraging audiences to engage in sustainable practices, such as bringing reusable items
Serving plant-based, locally sourced catering and prioritising plant-based diets
Supporting local, organic producers, including wines where possible
Working with sustainability consultants, local councils, and environmental organisations where appropriate
Tracking, reflecting on, and continually improving sustainability practices across productions

Increasing Positive Conceptual Impact

Alongside reducing negative material impact, we seek to heighten the positive conceptual impact of our work. Our productions engage with environmental storytelling as a means of fostering connection and care. We understand performance as an opportunity to attune audiences to ecological relationships between human and more-than-human worlds and to invite new ways of seeing, feeling, and relating. In some productions, this manifests through ecological dramaturgy that adapts Shakespeare's plays for clear environmental messaging. Other productions do not alter the text but instead seek to work with the text's already densely 'natural' references within living landscapes to enhance audience-nature connection.

Enhancing Postive Affective (Felt) Impact

Our practice-as-research foundation explores how biophilia (human-nature connection) and biophilic design (nature-based design based on environmental cues that harness attention and affect) can translate to Shakespeare's textual analysis, rehearsal room practices ,and staging techniques. A unique aspect of our approach is the integration of biophilic design patterns into staging and performance. Rather than relying on resource-intensive scenography, we apply biophilic principles such as organised complexity, variation, and dynamism to shape the sensory and affective experience of our productions. By foregrounding these elements, we aim to create rich, immersive environments that enhance audience engagement through rethinking Original Shakespearean Practices in new ways.

Carbon Responsibility

All creative work carries an environmental impact. Where possible, we measure the carbon footprint of each production and seek to offset this impact through biodiversity restoration initiatives. We prioritise projects led by First Nations and Indigenous communities, including those that centre female leadership and stewardship of land and ecosystems.

Sustainability is an ongoing practice. We are committed to continually refining our methods, learning from collaborators and communities, and developing ways of making theatre that are both environmentally responsible and artistically ambitious.

We are a proud member of the global EarthShakes Alliance.