Wired Aerial Theatre has used pandemic pain as a springboard to sustainable recovery.
Founded 20 years ago, Wired has garnered acclaim for its signature bungee-assisted dance productions and has worked with Lady Gaga, Pink and The Chemical Brothers.
Wendy Hesketh-Ogilvie and Jamie Ogilvie have built a reputation as innovators of an aerial technique which fuses contemporary dance, physical theatre, aerial performance, gymnastics and climbing.
COVID forced the company to make cuts to survive, reducing core staff from seven to three, and gave up its rehearsal space and offices in Liverpool.
Wired then received fully funded support from the Low Carbon Eco-Innovatory, a business support programme which gives small organisations and charities free access to academic expertise and resources.
Lancaster University, one of the partners of the scheme, provided Wired with student interns to help research, evaluate and benchmark their greenhouse gas emissions by reviewing the environmental impact of their rehearsal space and international touring productions.
“While things are starting to return to a level of normality again, we cannot go back to the way things were”, Jamie explained. “There is a substantial amount of work to be done, but we have a plan, thanks to LCEI, and have taken that important first step.”