Transdisciplinary research at Griffith is embedding climate action into contemporary theatre and helping to build sustainable futures in and beyond the performing arts. Expanding on her research into ecological design for performance (‘ecoscenography’), Dr Tanja Beer’s work is facilitating ecological design and sustainable practice within the performing arts in Australia and internationally.
Performance, in its many forms, has long had a part to play in sharing and commenting on social and cultural issues. Climate justice and sustainability are no different – discussions and action in these areas are driven by cultural narratives. However, the environmental impacts of the Australian performing arts sector and how it is adapting are yet to be adequately researched, documented, and disseminated – necessary work to accelerate programming, practice, and policy structures that support sustainability.
Dr Tanja Beer co-leads the Performance + Ecology Research Lab (P+ERL) based at the Creative Arts Research Institute, Griffith University, with colleagues Dr Linda Hassall and Dr Natalie Lazaroo. Working closely with Griffith University’s Climate Action Beacon, the P+ERL team use eco-critical, eco-creative, and transdisciplinary research to embed climate justice across all aspects of contemporary theatre making and build sustainable futures in and beyond the performing arts.
In early 2023 the P+ERL team’s Culture for Climate Report was released – the first national investigation into how Australian performing arts organisations are addressing the challenges of climate change. The report identifies progress and gaps in programming, practice, and policy across 13 Australian performing arts organisations and recommends steps forward for the industry.
Alongside industry partners PAC Australia (Australian Performing Arts Centres Limited) and One Stone Advisors, in June 2024 the P+ERL team secured an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant that will see their research progressing through to 2028. To celebrate this research initiative, the project was launched at Opera Queensland on July 16, 2024, with the announcement that Opera Queensland would be the project’s first case-study partner.
To build on the unique body of knowledge in the first Culture for Climate report, in July 2024 the P+ERL team also launched a Culture for Climate National Survey developed with industry partners PAC Australia, One Stone Advisors, Charcoalblue, Arts on Tour, and Theatre Green Book Australia.
The survey is the first nation-wide scope into the environmental sustainability efforts of the Australian performing arts sector and will allow for the development of a strong evidence-base to inform and guide sustainability goals, policies, and practices for the wider performing arts sector.
Results from the research are expected in late 2024 and will further facilitate tangible actions ongoing.
Building on the excellent work Dr Beer and Griffith University have already begun through their Culture for Climate Report, this further research piece will assist both government and the cultural sector to better understand the climate challenges and the opportunities for us to do better. Importantly the research will give visibility to the practical application of sustainable practices at an industry level.
Gill Perkins, Executive Director, Bell Shakespeare, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Through strong partnerships, Dr Beer and her colleagues are also leading direct industry change. In 2023 they undertook a project with the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) to develop teaching and learning resource packs to support NIDA’s efforts to ‘green’ their curriculum across all 14 tertiary qualifications at Diploma, Bachelors, and Masters levels. As Australia’s leading performing arts training institution NIDA’s future-focused green curriculum will help build a generation of sustainability-informed cultural leaders.
"I’m thrilled that we’re working with P+ERL to ensure that the NIDA curriculum reflects best environmental practice and that all NIDA students will have the skills to meaningfully respond to the climate crisis as creative practitioners. NIDA graduates quickly take on leadership roles across the full span of creative industries so I’m excited about the impact our students will have as their environmentally sustainable practices permeate their workplaces and the broader industry," said Liz Hughes, CEO, NIDA.
Dr Beer’s research builds on 20 years’ experience as an internationally recognised ecological designer and community artist. Her work seeks to re-think traditional stage design practices for a sustainable future and was driven by a lack of information available on sustainability for the performing arts sector.
In 2012, she coined and conceptualised the term ‘ecoscenography’ (ecological design for performance) to drive the development of sustainability in the field of theatre and performance design. Ecoscenography underpins Dr Beer’s extended research publications that facilitate ecological design and practice within the performing arts. The term has been endorsed by international communities in related fields and was recently featured as a central pillar at World Stage Design 2022 and as a key part of the programming for the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, the largest global event of its kind.
Dr Beer’s most celebrated creative research output is The Living Stage, an ecoscenographic concept that combines stage design, permaculture, placemaking, and community engagement to create recyclable, biodegradable, and edible performance spaces with positive environmental and social outcomes.
Produced during her postgraduate studies at the University of Melbourne, Australia, the Living Stage has since been realised in Castlemaine, Armidale, Lorne and Melbourne in Australia, New York, Cardiff, and Glasgow. In each case, the stage was grown with the local community, and they were then invited to perform in the space. At the end of its performance life, each living stage is consumed by its community. Physical structures then become garden beds and community spaces.
In Glasgow, a production of The Living Stage (Uprooted) delivered by local theatre company Eco Drama received the Glasgow City Council Environmental Initiative Award. Across 31 performances at festivals, outdoor venues, and schools, Uprooted reached over 1,300 children and adults in Glasgow and East Renfrewshire, Scotland, in 2015.
“Eco Drama’s goal was to create an innovative outdoor theatre production for children and families, which brought a ‘travelling garden’ to schools and venues in urban areas of Glasgow, and nurtured a connection to nature and the food we eat. It was important that the creation of Uprooted was participatory and sustainable at its heart, and the collaboration with ecoscenographer Dr Beer was instrumental to the project’s success," said Emily Reid, Artistic Director, Eco Drama, Glasgow, Scotland.
"Dr Beer brought an abundance of ideas, tried and tested tips for creating a Living Stage and robust research and expertise in the area of ecoscenography which filtered through into the process from start to finish. The partnership helped the idea to flourish and supported the goal to engage children with their natural environment, green issues, and sustainability through the visual of performance, all whilst making as little impact on the environment as possible.”
In Castlemaine, The Living Stage inspired a significant investment by local council in community garden projects, some of which are still thriving today. The Cardiff Living Stage (The Trans-Plantable Living Room) was one of 23 designs selected to represent the UK at the 2015 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space and was exhibited at the prestigious Victoria and Albert Museum, London as part of the UK exhibit in 2015. A film and documentation of The Living Stage New York City was also exhibited at the 2019 Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space.
Other creative outputs Dr Beer has contributed to include the ecoscenography for the production When the World Turns, a collaboration between Polyglot Theatre (Melbourne, Australia) and Oily Cart (United Kingdom).
Dr Beer and her colleagues in the P+ERL team will not only continue to document and research the information needed to accelerate programming, practice, and policy that supports sustainability in the performing arts sector, but deliver outputs and outcomes that put their research into practice.
Current projects include being part of the organising committee for The Colloquium on Artistic Research in Performing Arts Conference (CARPA9, 28–30 August 2025, Helsinki, Finland): Ecological Design and Performance Pedagogies: Sustainable Practices and Interdisciplinary Acts in a Climate Changed World. They are also the co-authors of a new monograph in development: Towards Eco-creativity: Approaches for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Design in a Climate Changed World (Beer, Hassall & Lazaroo, Palgrave Macmillan, 2026).
P+ERL’s approach has high potential for further environmental and social impacts into the future as they continue to provide what the sector needs to build sustainable futures in and beyond the performing arts.
Dr Beer and the Performance + Ecology Research Lab team are open to collaborations with academic, government, and community organisations and groups looking to progress sustainability and climate justice within and beyond the performing arts sector.
To learn more about Dr Beer’s research and her contact details please go to:
The Culture for Climate National Survey was supported by the Griffith Climate Action Beacon.
Credits and acknowledgements for the Living Stage projects can be found on the Living Stage website.
Sustainable Development Goals
Griffith University is aligned to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is committed to combatting climate change and contributing to a more sustainable world, where resources are used efficiently, waste is minimised, and sustainable practices are implemented while fostering partnerships for the goals.