This week, our Green Book Coordinator Angela Buckley spoke on a panel at the UK Theatre Conference, titled Integrating Sustainability in Practice: Lessons Learned. We are proud to champion sustainability within the sector and embed it across our work. And we’re learning a lot along the way! 

With our Festival season in full swing, we’ve been taking stock of what we’ve learnt from working with the Theatre Green Book on both Eclipse and Magic.

Not heard of Theatre Green Book? Start here.

Magic

Theatre Green Book level: Intermediate.

Set

61% of the set was made from reused or recycled materials and 79% has been stored to be re-used in the future.

Both revolves used in the stage were from our own stock, which had a significant positive impact on the result. The footlights were previously used in Anna Karenina last year, when they were 3D printed. The vintage theatre seats were a second-hand find, too. 

Costume

89% of the costumes were hired, came from our store, or made from reused or recycled materials. In fact, only 19 pieces of costume were newly made.

Props

68% of the props were reused or recycled.

We worked with Marcus Hall Props for this show, who have now added a Green Book section to their tracker for productions. It is encouraging to work with suppliers who are keen to incorporate Theatre Green Book into how they work and adapt to make positive changes alongside venues and freelancers.

Takeaways

Our Production Manager Apprentice Olivia Garner assisted our Technical Director, Chris Boone, on the production management for Magic. Both are finding innovative ways to make our productions as sustainable as possible.

Olivia searched high and low for a UK supplier for the gold tassels on the curtains. Following her work on this show, she is looking into how much set is built for rehearsals, before the final build has been completed, and finding reusable solutions.

Eclipse

Narrowly missed Theatre Green Book standards.

Set

The set for Eclipse just missed Green Book basic standards, with 46% made from re-used or recycled materials. There were several bespoke builds to create the Devon farmhouse.

The stunningly realistic garden was almost entirely re-used. The grass was made up of pieces from the National Theatre and our earlier production of Woman in Mind and the flowers all came from our props store. These were carefully stitched together to transform the stage. Designer Simon Higlett’s birdhouse from his own garden even made it into the spotlight! 

Props

An incredible 96% of the props and furniture were re-used or recycled - our highest result for props so far! This is especially heartening as the set was pretty jam-packed with props and the audience delighted in the true-to-life details. The painting of the house was painted by our in-house props team, inspired by the writer's own family home, and the newspapers were even sent from Devon!

Costume

52% of the costumes were reused. The majority of these were adapted from items bought in charity shops.

Takeaways (literally!)

A central scene in the play saw the characters sitting down to share a Chinese takeaway, so the team were faced with the challenge of minimising food waste. During rehearsals, the company took turns taking home uneaten food for food waste recycling, and we ensured any leftovers were properly recycled here in Chichester, too. 

Whilst we took many wins and learnings from this production, it missed basic standards overall as all three areas must achieve at least 50%.

We’re learning as we go along, but Theatre Green Book is becoming embedded in how we produce shows here at CFT, with more time being given to finding sustainable swaps at every stage. Stay tuned to find out our results for Atonement and 45 Years…