To meet the conditions, official agencies had to be engaged to conduct research in the field of ecology, nature conservation, light and sound. “All those agencies are very busy, because every event needs them. Sometimes you have to wait up to three months before a report is ready. So you have to start preparing very early.”
And that creates pressure and extra costs. “LED lighting, for example, is more expensive than classic light and it takes employees more time to get the permits. Moreover, location theater is not a lot of money. At the same time, you don’t want to raise the ticket prices too much.”
Due to all the measures that have been taken, Het Pauperparadijs emits relatively little nitrogen. And that is badly needed, according to Lommerde. “Because most of the nitrogen is emitted by visitors who come here by car. There are also virtually no other options for them, because they can’t get here by public transport either.”
All those strict nitrogen rules make it very difficult to organize an event outside. This certainly applies to location theatre. Lommerde: “The consequence is that in the future there will be less theater to see outside. Internally I have at least once said that this is our last outdoor production.”