Founded in 2018, the UK’s first zero-waste theatre has been places and seen some things too. Have a scroll to learn more about our storied past!
Founded
We first came up with the idea for The Greenhouse in August of 2018 while we were at the Edinburgh Fringe. Thousands of flyers were going to waste, and many of them weren’t even that recyclable – we felt that someone needed to start doing things differently. So, we started out trying to build the UK’s first zero-waste performance space. Initially, we set it up as a project under BoxedIn Theatre, our company at the time.
The Team Assembles
Setting out to tackle the climate crisis one theatre at a time was no mean feat. We assembled a crack team of over 30 young performers, creatives, designers, administrators, and generally awesome people. They worked tirelessly through the year to bring the venue off the page and into reality.
Our First Partner
We met Clean Water Wave – our first ever corporate partner – in April of 2019, and worked closely with them to spread their message through 2019. Since then, we’ve worked with partners of all shapes and sizes to help them green their business and reach a wider audience with their environmental commitments.
The Venue Opens
After much planning and anticipation, the venue finally opened! Through the month of August, we offered over 150 performances, selling over 2,000 tickets. We won two awards and were featured in The Guardian, The New York Times, and on Radio 4. Not bad for a first-time venue!
Big Plans for 2020
After this success, we were getting ready to move on to bigger and better things. BoxedIn Theatre had decided to commit all of their resources to helping The Greenhouse take off. We were starting to plan a tour, and exploring other locations that The Greenhouse could pop-up around the UK. Things were really starting to look up!
COVID
As with everyone else around the world, March 2020 brought BoxedIn Theatre to a grinding halt. As a small company, we had to make some major adjustments to stay afloat. Unfortunately, that meant cancelling all of our plans for the year, and looking much further forward. But we still kept working on. We moved some of our offering online, offering live workshops, as well as recorded engagement and sustainability tips through our YouTube channel.
The Greenhouse, officially!
One thing we were able to do in this dark period was change our name. The Greenhouse was no longer a project run by BoxedIn Theatre. It was everything the company did! And so, in September, we decided to officially change the company’s name to The Greenhouse Theatre, to show our ongoing commitment to building a greener future through the arts.
Back with a Bang
But, we didn’t just spend 2020 sitting around doing nothing. We spent the year building, growing, and planning. So, by January 2021, we were ready to hit the ground running. We developed our consultancy arm, supporting businesses to tell their sustainable stories. We also secured our second major partnership, with the Canary Wharf estates.
Building up
Things are opening up at the moment, and we’re cautiously optimistic for the future. We’re building up, getting ready for The Greenhouse to open in Canary Wharf, and we’ve got some exciting plans in the works for the next few months as well. Wherever we end up, we really hope to see you there!
