A County Durham theatre has a green wish granted

A County Durham theatre is setting the stage and leading the way by switching to power-saving lighting.

In 2018, the Gala Theatre made a commitment to ditch plastic confetti in favour of a more environmentally kind paper version.

And, as the theatre went into its latest popular panto run over the festive break, the venue continued to reduce its environmental impact thanks to newly installed eco-friendlier LED lighting.

Rosalind Farrow, from the low carbon economy team at Durham County Council, said: “Lighting is a really important part of the theatre experience and a vital aspect of a show. Replacing old lights with LED versions will save 20 tonnes of CO₂ per year and contribute to our wider aim to reduce carbon emissions following our declaration of a climate emergency in 2019.

“We were able to install the new lighting without closing the theatre, so the panto could keep entertaining audiences.”

The cast of 2019/2020 panto Aladdin, the first show to benefit from the new lighting, marked the theatre’s green development with panto stars Aladdin (David Hosie) and Chief Inspector Thai Chi (Kylie Ann Ford) presenting new lamps for old.

Find out more about what Durham County Council is doing to tackle climate change at https://www.durham.gov.uk/climatechange

For more information about the Gala Theatre visit https://www.galadurham.co.uk/