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Friday, 17 September
Sustainability
ON THE OCCASION OF GREAT BIG GREEN WEEK, WE REFLECT ON OUR OWN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Have you ever been to a concert and wondered how many cars had been driven to get there? Or considered the environmental impact of that amazing play you went to see? How about the energy consumption of the theatre you saw it in?
Large venues – professional theatres, concert halls, stadiums – consume vast amounts of energy and have a sizable carbon footprint. Fewer than 30% of bookers for London, for example, live within 5 miles (see 1). That means most of the audience are travelling further by driving (and think about the traffic!) or taking some form of transport to reach the venue. The company is also likely to be travelling to the venue with large amounts of equipment, a large team and a large vehicle or multiple vehicles. In recent years, this threat has been recognised and there has been a substantial reduction in energy consumption and a carbon emissions in arts venues (see 2)– fantastic!
Rural and Community Touring, on the other hand has been one of the most environmentally sustainable live performance options for decades.
SO WHAT IS RURAL AND COMMUNITY TOURING AND WHY IS IT GREEN?
Rural and Community Touring does things a little differently. Instead of hosting a show in one large venue, companies tour around a network of small venues, often village halls or community venues, bringing the art closer to home. The sets have to be adaptable and small, and often the company, set and/or instruments all come together in one van.
70% of our audience travel less than 6 miles to a show, with 51% living within 3 miles of the venue. In most communities, Live & Local is the only regular professional arts offer available within 10 miles. Previous NRTF annual surveys report that 90% of audiences travel for less than 10 minutes to get to their village hall. Not only is the distance travelled by more people smaller, but the drive time will also be less than travelling to a city, meaning no engines left running in traffic or time spent meandering through one-way systems. Often, with fewer than 100 people in the audience and fewer than seven members of a company, small-scale Rural and Community Touring reduces the need for, and environmental impact of, accommodation, personnel, stage set materials, production equipment and show power demand, some of the main areas of Greenhouse Gas emissions in the theatre sector (see 3).
A reduction in running power, by no means indicates a reduction in quality. Live & Local’s Rural and Community Touring scheme is all about getting the highest quality performances to people in places that don’t often get the chance to travel to see them, Making each village a capital of culture in its own right. Music, dance, drama, puppetry, spoken word – you name it. Why not skip the traffic and find a surprising show in a surprising place near you?
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1 Audience Agency – https://www.theaudienceagency.org/resources/drive-time-vs-distance
2 Arts Council England https://www.artscouncil.org.uk/news/arts-and-cultural-organisations-embrace-challenge-climate-change
3 Julie’s Bicycle – https://juliesbicycle.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/MA_Vol3_Theatre_Report_2010.pdf
Other resources:
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