Theatre secures new award

Chichester Festival Theatre is among the winners at the inaugural Great British Theatres Awards.

The awards celebrate the “extraordinary buildings, organisations and individuals making an outstanding contribution to the UK's cultural life”, with Chichester taking home the title for the Great Green Theatre.

The citation stated: “Chichester Festival Theatre was recognised for placing sustainability at the heart of its operations and artistic practice. Guided by the Theatre Green Book, its initiatives include carbon offsetting for audience journeys and the creation of The Nest, a new low-carbon studio venue built using recycled materials.”

Angela Buckley, who is projects, events and Green Book co-ordinator at CFT, said: “We were thrilled to be honoured with the inaugural Great British Theatre Award for Great Green Theatre. This award is a tribute to our staff, companies and freelance creatives, who – through a combination of practical action, shared responsibility, and a genuine commitment to change – make sustainability part of how we create, and will really encourage us to continue putting environmental considerations at the heart of our values.

“We were the first theatre to offer audiences the opportunity to offset their journeys’ carbon impact, which has planted over 50,000 trees internationally. Our green initiatives include bicycles available for visiting artists and a free community bus, including a railway shuttle for selected performances. Our newest performance space, The Nest, was recycled from an existing building and designed to be a low-cost, low-carbon venue. We loved celebrating Green Week with the free community event, Walk of the Dandelion; and the world premiere of Atlantis by Emily White (co-produced with Theatr Clwyd), which followed four generations as they discover the cost of saving the planet, was accompanied by a high-profile panel discussion on the climate crisis and free screenings of People’s Emergency Briefing. Theatre Green Book sets a national standard for encouraging a circular supply chain for making theatre and we report all results, show by show, on our website – so follow along to keep track of our progress!”

Citizens Theatre in Glasgow took home the evening's highest honour, Great British Theatre 2026, alongside the Great Renovation award, recognising its remarkable transformation and commitment to the community it serves.

Other winners were: Great New Build – @sohoplace, London; Great Amateur Theatre – Sherborne Studio Theatre, Dorset; Great Found Space – The Dipping House, Stoke-on-Trent; Great Community Connection – Joint winners: Eden Court, Inverness and Polka Theatre, London; Great Use of Space – Natural Dye and Wellbeing Garden, National Theatre, London; Great Placemaking Partner – Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council; Great Public Space – Storyhouse, Chester; Great British Theatres Shining Star – Joint winners: Leith Theatre Trust and Daniel Shrimpton, Joseph Rowntree Theatre.

Joshua McTaggart, CEO of Theatres Trust, said: “Theatres Trust is thrilled to be celebrating the winners of the first-ever Great British Theatres Awards. The winners reflect the diverse nature of theatres across the country with winners ranging from a new West End theatre to a venue created in an adapted industrial unit. Whether historic or modern, amateur, commercial or subsidised, each winner demonstrated the far-reaching impact it has for its audiences, communities and artists.”