WHO ARE WE:
We are The Living Theatre Whitwell. An outdoor arts organisation, born out of the pandemic with a mission to provide access to the outdoors and arts, increase the wellbeing of our community and provide support for those wishing to enter the creative industries. Sustainable practices and mentorship are woven into all of our projects, along with a bigger goal to cultivate new sustainable practices within the outdoor theatre industry. We are run by a core creative team and a large group of wonderful local volunteers.
HOW WE BEGAN:
The theatre space originally used to be a farm dumpsite (as seen in picture above) and back in 2020, with the help of the local community we cleared out and started to build the space. This ethos of re-using and recycling is at the foundation of all projects. The space was created from secondhand items such as old church pews and old cinema chairs! Everything has had a life before.
THE PROJECT:
Our aim is two build two compost loos on site to enable us to further achieve our charitable aims. Installing compostable toilets would reduce our carbon footprint, increase our financial viability and open up a wider scope of events and activities to deliver our charitable objectives.
The hire of portaloos involve harmful chemicals, increased travel of large vehicles for delivery and maintenance and prove unsustainable to dispose of in the long term. Installing our choice of compostable toilets greatly reduces our carbon footprint, with no need for chemicals, vehicles and all built with sustainability at its heart. The waste will be composted on site and when safe to do so used to feed back to the surrounding trees and shrubs.
Currently hire costs are a financial burden to each project, reducing the repertoire of events we can offer and draining resources that could and should be put into the projects themselves. Not only would installing a permanent facility solve the ongoing cost but would create a new revenue stream, allowing us to hire the space in order to further support our organisation.
Further to this, we’d be able to deliver a wider range of activities, considering more small scale projects that hit our charitable aims without the limitation of needing to cover toilet hire costs. Having an acessible loo will also mean that the theatre can be wheelchair accessible all year around. This would allow us to open our space up to the public throughout the year for regular events and workshops that nurture creativity in the local area, develop new talent and create a space in which the arts, nature and community can flourish.
This is not a one-time benefit, this project has an impact that would secure our present and open up huge potential for our future.
Thank you!
The Living Theatre Team