The Theatre Green Book offers a framework for sustainability planning to theatres, across buildings, operations and productions. We take part in the focus group developing TGB v2 and are offering our experiences so far to help others in the industry. 

We set a target TGB standard for each of our in-house productions. For example, the Baseline standard requires that at least 50% of materials should have had a previous life and 65% of materials should be reused or recycled afterwards.  

Our first TGB production – Goldilocks & the Three Bears in 2022 – led to a 93% reduction in expected Carbon use. You can read our Goldilocks case study here. 

Since then, we have also produced Hansel & Gretel and The Ugly Duckling to TGB Baseline standards. All of these were Christmas shows for younger children in our Neville Studio, which then toured to schools and community centres.  

Our first mainstage TGB production was The Children in 2024, and the results were excellent – we missed our Baseline target in only one area and actually reached Intermediate target on all other areas. The primary learning from the process was that extending the planning time period, particularly for the design aspects, meant that both time and money are saved in sourcing second-hand and/or more sustainable alternatives in advance. Read The Children case study. 

In 2024, we also held a Sustainable Productions Summit for theatre-makers across the Midlands. This new initiative featured a panel of sustainability experts who shared their experience, discussed best practice and considered the future for the industry.  

Photography from our recent Theatre Green Book Productions