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When Joe Sellman-Leava first joined Regen, he was a young theatre-maker straight out of university, juggling part-time work with the early stages of an emerging creative career. What began as a practical day job soon became an unexpected source of creative fuel — one that would influence the next decade of his artistic journey and offer a rare inside view of how creativity and energy can co-exist in a professional setting.
“I’d done a load of different jobs,” Joe recalled, “but Regen was different. It was full of people who were experts in their field and had their own creative practice — dancers, musicians, illustrators, carpenters. I’d never seen that in a workplace before.”
That cross-pollination of ideas — part analytical, part imaginative — helped Joe see the organisation not just as an energy consultancy, but as a living creative ecosystem. It was also his first real experience of working within a mission-driven team. “The stakes were clear,” he said. “We were doing something that mattered, in a tough political environment. But there was trust, freedom, and belief in creativity as a way to adapt and survive.”
Working at Regen during the coalition-government years, Joe witnessed the organisation adapt rapidly to a new funding landscape. “Creativity teaches resilience,” he reflected. “If you’ve kept a creative practice going, you’ve already learned how to push through the internal critic, keep going when things get hard. Regen’s creative culture helped it stay agile and hopeful through uncertainty.”
He also found personal solace. “I’d always been terrified of the climate crisis,” Joe admitted. “At Regen, for the first time, I felt I was part of the fight — learning, understanding, seeing that there was hope. It turned eco-anxiety into action.”
Joe’s years with Regen deepened his belief that the transition to a sustainable energy system is as much a story problem as a technical one. “The fossil-fuel lobby has told the story for decades,” he said. “They’ve had the money and the means to dominate the narrative. What we’re doing now — through creativity, art, social media, and storytelling — is reclaiming that space.”
As a playwright and performer, Joe’s own work has increasingly focused on the intersection of the personal and the political — the same territory he explored at Regen. “Our whole thing in theatre has always been: where does the personal meet the political? Where does the head collide with the heart?”
Through this lens, he sees deep parallels between performance and energy engagement. “Both are about helping people see where they fit into a bigger story. It’s about turning expertise into connection — helping people understand why their bit of knowledge or experience matters to the whole picture.”
Asked what theatre uniquely offers to the climate conversation, Joe was clear: “Plays are public rituals. They bring strangers together for a shared experience — a disruption, a spark. That’s what the energy transition needs: spaces where private concern meets public imagination.”
He believes that live performance can model the kind of community energy the sector strives for — people gathered in a room, listening, questioning, imagining together. “Most people want stronger action on climate,” he said. “Most people are scared. But most of us think we’re alone. Theatre reminds us we’re not.”
Reflecting on Regen’s Art and Energy work, Joe pointed to its culture of trust and curiosity. “Regen was the first workplace where individuality was really embraced. There was structure and direction, but also freedom. That balance — leadership and autonomy — that’s the magic that makes creative collaboration work.”
He believes this same principle underpins successful partnerships between artists and energy organisations. “Start with why. Be clear about the shared purpose. Then give it room to breathe. Don’t control it too early. Collaboration thrives when both sides are open to surprise.”
Joe’s advice to creatives exploring energy themes is both pragmatic and encouraging: “Do it — even though it’s hard. The topic is huge, sometimes daunting, but if you can focus on one specific question you’re trying to answer, you’ll make something meaningful.”
For energy organisations, his message is equally clear: “There are so many possible benefits to working with artists. It might deepen public engagement, or it might change your internal culture — helping staff think differently, solve problems, or reconnect with creativity. Be open to the unexpected. Some of the best discoveries in history have been accidents.”
Today, as an award-winning theatre-maker and trainer, Joe continues to collaborate with Regen — running storytelling workshops, hosting events, and exploring the idea of a new theatre piece about energy.
“I’d love to be part of what’s next,” he said. “Regen’s creative work has always been about trust, imagination, and purpose. That combination changes people. It changed me.”
(Insights from theatre maker Joe Sellman-Leava)
Joe sees storytelling and performance as tools for empathy and connection — helping translate technical or policy ideas into something emotionally resonant.
“Both theatre and energy work are about helping people see where they fit into a bigger story. It’s about turning expertise into connection.”
Creative collaboration, he argues, helps organisations re-humanise their work — reaching people’s hearts as well as their heads.
Joe believes that maintaining a creative practice develops the same resilience organisations need in times of change.
“Creativity teaches resilience. If you’ve kept a creative practice going, you already know how to push through uncertainty — and that’s what organisations need in a changing world.”
By bringing artists into the conversation, energy teams can learn to embrace experimentation, ambiguity, and adaptation — qualities that technical systems alone can’t provide.
Artistic collaboration doesn’t just produce public-facing outcomes; it can change internal culture.
“Working with artists might deepen public engagement — or it might change your internal culture, helping staff think differently, solve problems, or reconnect with creativity.”
Creatives can act as catalysts for new thinking, encouraging energy professionals to see problems from unexpected angles and to value uncertainty as part of innovation.
Joe argues that the energy sector needs to take control of its own narrative.
“The fossil-fuel lobby has had the resources to dominate the story for decades. What we’re doing now, through art and storytelling, is reclaiming that narrative.”
Artists can help reframe the conversation around hope, fairness, and imagination, offering the public a story they can believe in and belong to.
Theatre and live art create shared experiences — something Joe believes the energy transition urgently needs.
“Plays are public rituals. They bring strangers together for a shared experience — and that’s what the energy transition needs: collective imagination.”
For him, the biggest benefit of creative collaboration is that it invites participation. It transforms passive audiences into active citizens who feel part of shaping the future.
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