There is no denying that touring a large-scale show for 29 weeks to 19 venues will have an environmental impact. Our Green Adventures working group strives to implement initiatives that help to make touring the show as sustainable as possible by reducing our waste, reusing what we can, and recycling materials that can't be used again. We are encouraging our community of dancers, crew, participants and venues to reduce waste by opting out of single use items and providing every company member and Swan Lake Take Flight participant with a reusable water bottle.
When it comes to costumes, we reuse or recycle as many items of clothing as possible. After a show closes, all sets, props and costumes get stored for use in the future, and anything that can't be reused in the next production is sorted to either be donated or recycled. There are a lot of clothes to process and recycling so many costumes after a tour is no mean feat, but many of the costumes you see onstage in Swan Lake have had a long life, and have been used previously on other tours. The sets that you see onstage throughout the Swan Lake 2024-25 tour are either recycled or made from sustainable materials, and our wigs, hair and makeup department use 90% sustainable bamboo products.
We are proud to be mentioned in Arts Council England & Julie's Bicycle's 2023-24 Environmental Responsibility Report recognising the efforts of our Environmental Manager who ensured 100% of costumes were recycled or reused. You can read the full 23/24 report here.
