Nottingham Playhouse is delighted to be partnering with the Children’s Book Project, a charity which takes pre-loved children’s books and gives them to children with few, if any, of their own.
All of the books used on the set of their latest acclaimed production, Eureka Day, have been donated by the Children’s Book Project and this week, children from the Greenfields Community School in the Meadows visited to choose books from the shelves on stage.
At the end of the run, these books will be sent to the school for the children to enjoy. And audiences are invited to donate any of their used children’s books throughout the run of this and the annual panto, too, which the Children’s Book Project will then rehome.
Eureka Day, by Jonathan Spector, is being produced to ‘Theatre Green Book’ standards, which means at least 50% of materials used in the set and costumes must be recycled, and at least 65% of materials used must be recycled after use.
Nottingham based designer Eleanor Field, grasped this challenge with both hands and got in touch with the Children’s Book Project. The play is set in a children’s school library and Eleanor wanted real books on the shelves. All the books on the set are from the charity’s stock.
Eleanor Field, Designer, said:
“It’s a beautiful way to connect the story of Eureka Day on stage to real children in the community. The play is about empathy, about learning to see the bigger picture and understand other perspectives. And although it’s not a play for children, reading is such a huge part of developing empathy, it felt like a perfect partnership.”
Artistic Director at Nottingham Playhouse, Adam Penford, said:
“Nottingham Playhouse is striving to be as sustainable as possible. Working to Theatre Green Book standards, rather than being a constraint, can actually allow designers to be more creative. This venture with the Children’s Book Project is the perfect collaboration, which synchronises the work on stage with getting our local community involved and benefitting local children.”
Over 1 million children in the UK don’t own a book of their own. You can help by donating gently used children’s books at the drop-in point in the foyer at Nottingham Playhouse, which will be available until the end of Sleeping Beauty on 17 January 2026. You can also visit the Children’s Book Project website and enter your postcode to find your nearest drop off point at childrensbookproject.co.uk
The Theatre Green Book (TGB) offers a framework for sustainability planning to theatres, across buildings, operations and productions. Eureka Day has been tracked to TGB standards and the results are looking very promising so far. The stained-glass windows that make a dramatic focal point on the set are reclaimed, as is all of the school furniture used. Eleanor persuaded local schoolchildren to paint the pictures for the back wall and even the carpet is reused from a conference venue. Nottingham Playhouse aims to produce at least two productions per year in accordance with the Theatre Green Book principles.
Nottingham Playhouse is committed to reduce the environmental impacts of its work and improve sustainability, for the benefit of audiences, community, staff and the city. It has taken an industry lead in training over 75% of its staff and associates in Carbon Literacy. It also hosted a Sustainable Productions Summit in April 2024, attracting over 70 theatre makers across the country. For more information, visit: https://nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk/about-us/sustainability/
Posted on 13 November 2025
