Case Study
Chipping Norton Theatre: a lead role for energy efficiency
Saving energy in a theatre is not always simple – with staff, audience, actors and staging to consider – but Chipping Norton Theatre are proving that more sustainable operations are possible, and very much worth it.
We recently visited the theatre to chat to Graeme Williamson, one of their fundraising leads, to find out more about the benefits and challenges of the organisation’s sustainability journey.
Chipping Norton Theatre are happy recipients of our Green Fund for Oxfordshire SMEs, helping them to install a new solar panel array on their roof which will save the organisation £45,000+ over the lifetime of the panels.
Act 1: Energy efficiency and a carbon reduction report
The small but mighty 220-seat theatre in the heart of Oxfordshire plays host to over 300 live performances a year, and is a crucial hub for local people, businesses and schools. Its community and education programmes have reached tens of thousands of people – something the team became increasingly aware that they could scale up if they could somehow cut their expensive energy bills.
So, following our initial fully-funded energy assessment on the theatre in 2019, the team in Chipping Norton sprung into action.
“The report was absolutely brilliant because it enabled us to prioritise the measures that we needed to do. Some of those were quick wins that we could do at relatively low cost, but then we could start looking ahead and fundraising for the bigger projects, like the LED lighting and the solar and so forth. It’s been absolutely invaluable in focusing us as an organisation on where we need to put the effort to get those returns both for the environment and for our cost base. It then feeds back into how much we can do elsewhere.”
Graeme, Chipping Norton Theatre
With the help of grant funding through our OxFutures project, the team was able to carry out work on insulating their HVAC system, further improving the efficiency of the building and audience experience in other areas of the premises. We asked Graeme about the process of fundraising, and how having an energy assessment made an impact on their applications…
Another obvious ‘double-win’ for the theatre – as well as its staff and actors – was a stage-lighting upgrade. Swapping older tungsten bulbs (which are famously very hot) for new LED lighting meant that the cost of running shows was noticeably reduced. Graeme also noted that this has had a measurable effect on audience experience…
“Theatres are sometimes old buildings and it’s not easy to control the temperature inside them. The LED lighting produces less heat, so the auditorium temperature stays at a more constant level. It has improved a lot of the audience feedback we’ve had. Having that more stable temperature control across the whole building is brilliant for audiences.”
Act 2: Clean energy and the community
In Autumn 2025, the theatre was ready to take its next big step – and applied for our Green Fund to support an additional solar PV installation with a renewable generation of 6232 KW/h per year. Over its lifetime, this new installation will save over £45,000 in energy costs, whilst powering the theatre’s operations with clean energy. Graeme told us what this saving would mean for the theatre…
“Energy prices of course have rocketed since we started the process, so the payback now has been fantastic for the theatre. It means that we can spend more on some of the things that we really want to do, like the community work that we do. We have a huge outreach programme now that supports local families. We go into schools and use arts-led activities on mental health to tackle bullying and other issues. Spending less on the core means we can spend more on the local community and really make a difference.”
For Chipping Norton Theatre, leading on energy efficiency hasn’t just been a savvy financial move. Sustainability has become a part of its identity, and a way to maximise the theatre’s impact on the local people that enjoy its services.
Graeme tells us that their sustainability journey is not finished here, and that the team are already looking into a battery installation to support the upcoming solar array…
“We’re now actively talking about our environmental impact and the measures we’re taking at events and shows both locally and nationally. We hope that this is helping to build that story locally and encouraging other organisations to follow suit.”
Want to save on your organisation’s energy bills? Apply for a fully-funded energy assessment from us.