School: Department of Theatre
Program: BA Theatre and Performance Studies
Units: Applied Theatre (Year 2), Making Theatre (Year 1), Interpreting Plays (Year 2)
How is sustainability included in these units? How did you decide what was appropriate?
Sustainability is embedded directly into students’ creative and production processes rather than taught as a separate topic. In practical theatre units, students are asked to think carefully about how they source, use, and reuse materials such as costumes, props, and set elements. This includes prioritising reused and recycled materials, avoiding single-use items, and considering the full life cycle of everything they create, both before and after performances.
In Year 1, students are introduced to the Theatre Green Book, a professional framework developed by theatre organisations to reduce environmental impact. This resource helps students understand sustainability as an industry-standard expectation rather than an abstract concept. In later units, including Applied Theatre and Interpreting Plays, students build on this knowledge by formally articulating their sustainability choices through written or presented sustainability statements.
Decisions about what was appropriate were guided by relevance to professional theatre practice. Rather than adding new content to an already full curriculum, sustainability was embedded where it aligns with how theatre is made, encouraging students to see environmental responsibility as inseparable from creative decision-making.
If it uses any unusual/original pedagogy or assessment approaches to do this, what are these?
A key approach is framing sustainability as a creative challenge rather than a restriction. Students are encouraged to see ethical and environmental constraints as opportunities for imaginative problem-solving. In Applied Theatre, students work with local community partners and respond to real-world project briefs. For example, this year students collaborated with professional theatre company Travelling Light Theatre Company, to design a free family theatre day for local communities, using themes identified by children themselves, such as protecting nature and community celebration. Sustainability is explored through storytelling, imagination, and play, rather than teaching.
Assessment methods also reflect this approach. Students regularly pitch ideas and share work in progress; alongside discussions of how their creative choices align with sustainable practices. Sustainability statements and reflective presentations ensure students articulate not only what they made, but how and why they made it.
What are the challenges you have faced in embedding sustainability practices within the curriculum?
One of the main challenges is time pressure within intensive, practice-based units. When students are working to tight deadlines, there can be a temptation to resort to convenience purchasing, such as buying new materials quickly rather than sourcing reused alternatives. Embedding sustainability requires breaking these habits and encouraging earlier planning and preparation. Balancing strong visual and aesthetic outcomes with low-resource production is another challenge. Students must work creatively to achieve professional-quality work while using sustainable materials. Additionally, limited storage space presents practical difficulties when thinking about the long-term life cycle of props and costumes. Keeping materials for reuse is not always feasible.
Despite these challenges, students are generally highly engaged and motivated, and sustainability is increasingly understood as part of professional theatre practice rather than an added burden.
What sustainability-relevant ‘takeaways’ would you expect students to gain?
Students develop a strong understanding that sustainability is integral to their future professional practice. They learn to think critically and ethically about material use, budgeting, planning, and environmental impact, alongside artistic quality. The programme fosters skills in long-term thinking, collaboration, and responsible decision-making. Students also gain confidence in having ethical conversations, weighing creative ambition against environmental responsibility and understand that sustainable practice is a shared responsibility within creative teams.
How can other schools learn from your school practices in embedding sustainability?
One key lesson is that sustainability does not require entirely new modules. Instead, it can be meaningfully embedded into existing units by rethinking assessment methods, creative processes, and ways of working. Framing sustainability as a creative and intellectual opportunity rather than a limitation helps students engage positively and imaginatively. Working with local community partners and professional organisations also grounds sustainability learning in real-world contexts, making it more relevant and impactful. By integrating sustainability into everyday disciplinary practice, rather than treating it as an add-on, departments can help students understand that sustainable thinking is not separate from their field, but central to how they will work in the world beyond university.
Key Contact Person for Sustainability: Sara Reimers/Mark France
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