Eco musical completes five week tour highlighting environmental issues to primary schools across NI
Lyric Theatre Belfast Creative Learning Department has completed a five-week tour of primary schools in eleven council areas across Northern Ireland of their production ‘Waste Busters the Eco-Musical’.
‘Waste Busters the Eco-Musical’, is a short musical written and composed by Rebecca Applin. Reaching an audience of over 4,000 young people, it aims to raise awareness of littering and plastic pollution and encourage the next generation to help protect the environment.
This project acts as a vehicle to deliver important environment learning, in an exciting, engaging way for young people and their teachers. It addresses key topics on the World Around Us curriculum and, in many cases, it can provide young people with their first live theatre experience.
The Creative Learning department at the Lyric are dedicated to removing barriers to theatre engagement, creating high-quality theatre experiences delivered in the classroom.
Supported by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) through its Carrier Bag Levy Fund, the production raised awareness of the need to “reduce, reuse and recycle” and highlights environmental issues like the impact of plastic pollution in Northern Ireland.
Executive producer Lyric Theatre, Jimmy Fay commented: “2026 is a very special year for Lyric Theatre as we celebrate our 75th anniversary, and it is wonderful to mark this milestone by continuing to bring the transformative power of theatre to young people across Northern Ireland.
"The work of our Creative Learning Department is central to Lyric’s commitment to making theatre accessible to everyone. Through Waste Busters the Eco-Musical, the team brought high-quality theatre directly into primary schools, giving many young people their first experience of live performance while exploring important environmental issues.
"Reaching more than 4,000 children across 11 council areas is a fantastic achievement, and we are proud to inspire the next generation.”
Erin Hoey, Head of Creative Learning at Lyric Theatre, added: “We were delighted to continue our partnership with the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, to deliver this exciting project to primary school audiences for the fifth consecutive tour.
‘Waste Busters the Eco-Musical’ toured schools across Northern Ireland bringing a unique opportunity to learn about important environmental issues in an engaging, memorable way.”
For further information on Lyric Creative Learning visit https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/creative-learning/ Follow Lyric Theatre on
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