Sustainable Theatre: Theory, Context, Practice

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How does the world of theatre and the performing arts intersect with the climate and environmental crisis This timely book is the first comprehensive account of the sectors response to the defining issue of our time. The book documents a sector in transition and presents theatre professionals, practitioners and organizations with a synthesis of information, knowledge and expertise to guide them to their own endorsement of sustainable thinking and practice. It is illustrated with inspiring case studies and interviews, from Londons National Theatre, to Sydney Theatre Company, to the Gteborg Opera and the American Repertory Theatre. These foreground the work of pioneering institutions and individual practitioners whose artistic ingenuity, creative activism and sense of public mission have given shape, content and purpose to what we can now call sustainable theatre. Spanning almost three decades, the book approaches the topic from multiple angles and through an international perspective, recording how climate and environmental concerns have been expressed in cultural policy, arts leadership and organizational ethics; in the greening of infrastructure and daily operations; in the individual and institutional practice of sustainable theatre-making; in performing arts education; and in touring practices and international collaboration. It investigates, too, how the climate crisis influences theatre as a story-teller on stage and beyond. Written by a leading expert in the field of culture and environmental sustainability and distilling many years of research and hands-on experience, Sustainable Theatre: Theory, Context, Practice is intended to be relevant and useful to professionals involved in the theatre and performing arts sector in many different capacities: from policy-makers, arts leaders and managers to administrators, technicians, artists, scholars and educators.

Reviews

A comprehensive resource, at once detailed and eloquent, for theatre administrators, artists, scholars committed to ecological values and practices in theatre studies and performance. * Theresa May, author of Earth Matters on Stage: Ecology, Environment and American Theatre; Co-founder EMOS Ecodrama Playwrights Festival *
Our world changes rapidly and so does theatre. Beyond the art, sustainability has become a central challenge for institutions and artists alike. Iphigenia Taxopoulou's study is the new standard reference work and provides a guide/paradigm for the modern sustainable theatre. * Oliver Reese, Artistic Director, Berliner Ensemble *

Author Bio

Iphigenia Taxopoulou is a founding member and general secretary of the European theatre network mitos21. She's an associate partner of Julies Bicycle, the UK-based charity that mobilises the arts and culture to take action on climate change. She has worked in theatre as literary advisor, programming consultant and international projects manager in Greece and abroad for several years. She is an experienced sustainability consultant, lecturer and educator. She holds a degree in Philology & Modern Greek Studies from Aristotle University (Thessaloniki) and an MA in Cultural Management & Theatre Criticism from City University of London.