Climate change poses an existential threat to humanity and theatremakers need to be part of addressing it. Here, you’ll find content about artistic work that engages with the climate crisis, as well as learnings about how to make theatre practices more eco-friendly. Chantal Bilodeau’s long-running Theatre in the Age of Climate Change series is a must-read, and don’t miss Groundwater Arts’s video series on the Green New Theater.
The Latest
Essay
Passing the Baton
by Chantal Bilodeau
7 April 2026
Essay
The Making of Things We Will Miss: Meditations on the Climate Crisis
by Emily K. Harrison
16 March 2026
Essay
Theatre as a Partner in Environmental Sustainability Awareness in Delta State, Nigeria
by Dennis OBIRE, Cornelius Onyekaba , Eseovwe Emakunu
Marta Keil and Grzegorz Reske share letters from the past and the future, from June 2020 to June 2029, detailing the changes to the theatrical landscape in their hometown of Warsaw, Poland.
Annalisa Dias and Ronee Penoi, on behalf of Groundwater Arts, argue that there cannot be a just arts sector within an unjust world, and that contrary to what people think, arts workers do have the means and the agency to make change. What is needed is a new narrative.
Groundwater Arts presented Green New Theater with Producer Hub (ASL-interpreted) livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 5 February 2021 at 3:30 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) 4:30 p.m. MST (Colorado, UTC -7) / 5:30 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 6:30 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).
Introducing a project which will support experiments to find more sustainable ways for international physical and digital touring in Europe.
Thursday 28 January 2021
European Union
Launching of the Perform Europe project on livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 28 January 2021 at 14:00 CET (Brussels, UTC +1) / 15:00 EET (Bucharest, UTC +2) / 13:00 GMT (London, UTC +0) / 8 a.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).
Groundwater Arts presented Green New Theater Part 7: Immediate Divestment from Fossil Fuels (ASL-interpreted) livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 13 January 2021 at 4 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) 5 p.m. MST (Colorado, UTC -7) / 6 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 7 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).
How can we as a field address the impending climate crisis while we still have time to do so? What have we learned during this time and how can we build on it? In this session, join arts leaders, climate crisis experts, artists and innovators who are already responding to the crisis and calling for collective action to learn how the performing arts presenting, booking and touring field can tap our power for change and worldwide impact.
A Producer’s Guide to Measuring, Budgeting, and Lowering the Carbon Emissions of Livestreams and Video Conferences
7 January 2021
Vijay Mathew asks, and then offers ideas to approach, the question: "How will the performing arts field contribute to climate justice during the sixth mass extinction?"
Making Site-Specific Theatre About Climate Change that Could Be Threatened by Climate Change
17 December 2020
Playwright and environmentalist Alice Stanley Jr. shares her experience of Capital W’s newest immersive theatre piece, Fire Season—a play about climate change that took place in the Santa Monica Mountains during this year’s wildfires.
Groundwater Arts presented Green New Theater Part 5: Right Relationship to Land and History (ASL-interpreted) livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Wednesday 2 December 2020 at 4 p.m. PST (San Francisco, UTC -8) 5 p.m. MST (Colorado, UTC -7) / 6 p.m. CST (Chicago, UTC -6) / 7 p.m. EST (New York, UTC -5).
Hosted by European Theatre Convention's International Theatre Conference
Wednesday 25 November 2020
European Union
What can theatres do to reduce their carbon footprints? Why and how do we need to act and change our ways of producing, working and travelling? The conference focused on sustainability and "Green Theatre" practices to help the sector effectively implement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Amrita Dhaliwal and Nathaniel Justiniano speak with Lebanese humanitarian clown Sabine Choucair, covering the differences between clowning and bouffon, joining the revolution, environmental work, and more.
A new performance to camera suggesting that there is a connection between ourselves and the earth
Friday 23 October 2020
London, United Kingdom
performingbordersLIVE20 and Live Art Development Agency presented a performance of RE:seeding, in correspondence Performance to Camera by Jade Montserrat livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 23 October 2020 at 2 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 7 p.m. BST (London, UTC+1) / 20:00 CEST (UTC+2).
Living in a compromised world: a dialogue with Gail Bradbrook (UK), Alexis Shotwell (Canada), Alice Swift (UK)
Sunday 4 October
Ghent, Belgium
NTGent presented School of Resistance, Episode Seven: Environmental Repercussions livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Sunday 4 October 2020 at 18:00 CEST (Ghent, UTC +2) / 17:00 BST (London, UTC +1) / 12:00 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 9:00 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7).
Groundwater Arts presented Green New Theater Part 4: Publicly Transparent Budgeting (ASL-interpreted) livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 1 October 2020 at 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) 5 p.m. MDT (Colorado, UTC -6) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 7 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).
Building Transnational Futures with Ulrike Guérot and Srećko Horvat
Friday 25 September 2020
Ghent, Belgium
NTGent presented School of Resistance, Episode Five: Beyond Europe: Building Transnational Futures livestreaming on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Friday 25 September 2020 at 18:00 CEST (Ghent, UTC +2) / 17:00 BST (London, UTC +1) / 12:00 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 9:00 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7).
Theatre in Emergency. A dialogue with Nora Chipaumire (USA) and Chantal Mouffe (UK)
Thursday 3 September 2020
Ghent, Belgium
NTGent presented School of Resistance - Episode Four: Why Theatre? livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 3 September 2020 at 18:30 CEST (Ghent, UTC +2) / 17:30 BST (London, UTC +1) / 12:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4) / 9:30 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7)
Groundwater Arts presented Green New Theater Part 3: Y'all, we gotta fix all of it livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 13 August 2020 at 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC -7) 5 p.m. MDT (Colorado, UTC -6) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC -5) / 7 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC -4).
allgo and Cara Mía Theatre presented a farm for meme livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 1 August and Sunday 2 August 2020, in collaboration with a todo dar productions and Innovations in Socially Distant Performance, an initiative of Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts.
Groundwater Arts presented Green New Theater Part 2: Decolonized Leadership Practices livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 16 July 2020 at 4 p.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 6 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 7 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4).
A deep dive into the most urgent question of our time: How do we engage with the climate crisis and can theatre be part of the solution?
Wednesday 10 June to Friday 12 June 2020
Canada
NAC English Theatre in partnership with The Canada Council for the Arts, and FOLDA presented The Green Rooms: The Earth is Watching…Let’s Act livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv from Wednesday 10 June to Saturday 13 June 2020.
Climate, economy and protest in the Global South. A dialog with Vandana Shiva and Vanessa Nakate hosted by Lara Staal
Thursday 28 May 2020
Ghent, Belgium
NTGent presented School of Resistance - Episode Two: Make the World Habitable Again livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Thursday 28 May 2020 at 10 a.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 11 a.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 16:00 BEST (London, UTC+1) / 17:00 CEST (Ghent, UTC+2) / 18:00 EAT (Kampala, UTC+3) 20:30 IST (New Delhi, UTC+5:30).
Forrest Gander in conversation with Raquel Salas Rivera.
Tuesday 26 May 2020
United States
PEN America, the Center for the Humanities at CUNY Graduate Center, and the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library presented Global Ecopoetics: Poetry, Translation, Climate Change & Public Health livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Tuesday 26 May 2020 at 10:30 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 12:30 p.m. CDT (Chicago, UTC-5) / 1:30 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 18:30 BST (London, UTC+1) / 19:30 CEST (Berlin, UTC+2).
Opening speech of Wiener Festwochen by Kay Sara. Followed by a debate with Tania Bruguera and Milo Rau, moderated by Lara Staal
Saturday 16 May 2020
Ghent, Belgium
NTGent presented School of Resistance - Episode One: This madness has to stop livestreamed on the global, commons-based, peer-produced HowlRound TV network at howlround.tv on Saturday 16 May 2020 at 9 a.m. PDT (San Francisco, UTC-7) / 12 p.m. EDT (New York, UTC-4) / 17:00 BEST (London, UTC+1) / 18:00 CEST (Belgium, UTC+2).
Genevieve Beller argues that the current forced pause on society provides a rare opportunity for theatres to take stock, inventory priorities, and enact positive and lasting change, and she provides tangible steps to do so.
