Old Fire Station, Oxford agrees that we are in a state of global climate crisis. We can’t go on like this: if we want things to change, we need to act now.

We’re part of the Green Arts Oxfordshire Network. We joined the movement Culture Declares An Emergency. We’ve started using the Theatre Green Book for all our in-house productions. We’re working with Julie’s Bicycle on measuring our emissions. We’re making changes to our building to improve its carbon footprint. We recycle, we re-use, we try and dispose of things responsibly. Our café is vegetarian, and as low-waste as possible. We have as little single-use plastic in the building, as possible. We programme as many events as we can, to help raise awareness of green issues.

Some fun facts:

• Our coffee is all roasted locally and delivered by bike.
• Our ice cream is made locally and collected by foot
• We consider environmental credentials when choosing new suppliers and ensure they work to minimise their impact
• We have switched to eco-friendly alternatives on much of our cleaning chemicals
• We have changed the lights in the building to make it more energy efficient
• The coffee grounds in our Café are recycled into biofuel by the company bio-bean
• Due to a generous grant by the Theatres Trust, in 2023 we changed the lighting rig in our auditorium to be fully LED

Read a blog post that our Head of Creativity & Comms wrote for house theatre network, about the difficulty of communicating on green matters.

Audiences – could you travel to us by foot, bike or public transport, rather than by car?

Artists – we ask you to make one green promise for your show. This could be to source all costume second-hand, or to ban single-use plastic from the rehearsal room. 

Have anything to say? Email becca.vallins@oldfirestation.org.uk