Do you hear the people groan? Just Stop Oil shut down performance of Les Misérables during climax of signature tune and lock themselves to the stage as crowd boo eco-activists and shout ‘how dare you!’
Just Stop Oil interrupted a performance of Les Miserables and closed the show tonight.
The crowd whooped and hollered as eco-activists climbed onto the stage carrying the group’s orange banner at the Sondheim Theater in Shaftesbury.
Tickets for Les Mis – a musical about a failed uprising against the French state – cost up to £200.
An irate theatergoer shouted, “Go away, you stupid people. How dare you.’
Another shouted: ‘You naughty people, you naughty people.’
As others jeered and jeered at the eco-protesters, a man at the front took away one of their banners.
Video shows the theater audience cheering as eco-activists clamber onto the stage holding the group’s orange banner in their hands
The group said in a statement that four people were “trapped on the stage of the French Revolution-themed show.”
The group said in a statement that four people were “trapped on the stage of the French Revolution-themed show.”
Community worker Hannah Taylor, 23, was among the protesters. She said: “The show opens with Jean Valjean stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving child. How long before we are all forced to steal loaves of bread?
She added: “How long will it take for there to be riots in the streets? The show can’t go on. We are facing a catastrophe. New oil and gas means crop failures, famine and death. It is an act of war against the Global South and a complete betrayal of young people.
‘Rishi Sunak has just approved Rosebank, a new oil project in the North Sea that will produce as much carbon as the annual emissions of the 28 lowest-income countries combined. It will lead to hundreds of thousands of deaths from famine as crops fail under increasingly extreme weather conditions.
‘Don’t I, like Jean Valjean, have the right to break the law to oppose this criminal government and its murderous policies? Ask yourself: Will you, like the citizens of Paris in the play, stand by, or will you rise up against the criminal designs of our governments and call for an end to new oil and gas extraction?’
Just Stop Oil said two of the protesters were named Hanan – a 22-year-old student – and Noah, 18.
The group said: ‘Hanan, a student, took action because the UK government, by approving new oil and gas, has shown total disregard for their welfare.
‘Noah, a theater lover, took action because he knows there is no future for the arts if society fails under the pressure of climate collapse.’
Just Stop Oil said two of the protesters were named Hanan (left) – a 22-year-old student – and Noah, 18 (right).
In another video posted online, eco-warrior Hanan said: ‘I’m taking action with Just Stop Oil by disrupting a Les Mis performance tonight.
‘Les Mis is about the June Uprising in which ordinary people rose up and organized against a government that consistently showed no interest in their well-being.
‘The UK Government has approved hundreds of gas and oil permits knowing the full impact this will have on our climate and society.
‘So why wait? Take action.’
The republican June Uprising of 1832 inspired Victor Hugo’s novel Les Misérables, which was published in 1862.
The uprising failed and did not last long as there was no public support.
In another video posted online, eco-warrior Hanan said: ‘I’m taking action with Just Stop Oil by disrupting a Les Mis performance tonight’
She added: “Les Mis is about the June uprising where ordinary people rose up and organized against a government that consistently showed no interest in their well-being.”
This evening, officers from Scotland Yard were called to the Sondheim Theater in Shaftesbury Avenue and said they are currently ‘dealing’.
The Metropolitan Police said: ‘At around 9pm on Wednesday, October 4, police were called to reports of a small number of protesters at a theater on Shaftesbury Avenue.
“Officers are on scene and responding.”
Just Stop Oil member Hannah Taylor said: ‘The show starts with Jean Valjean stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving child. How long before we are all forced to steal loaves of bread? How long will it take before riots break out in the streets? The show can’t go on.
‘We are facing a catastrophe. New oil and gas means crop failures, famine and death. It is an act of war against the Global South and an utter betrayal of young people.”