Two protesters from Just Stop Oil have disrupted a performance of The Tempest, starring Sigourney Weaver in London’s West End.
A man and a woman from the environmental campaign group climbed on to the stage at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Monday evening.
They launched a confetti canon and a voice called out: “We’ll have to stop the show, ladies and gents, sorry.”
Hollywood actress Weaver, who had been sitting in a chair on stage, was escorted away by a member of the theatre’s staff.
A video shared by Just Stop Oil shows the protesters being met with boos from the audience – but also a few cheers – before they were then guided off stage after less than a minute.
Alien star Weaver and another actor had been mid-scene when they were interrupted.
The protesters had been holding an orange banner reading “Over 1.5 degrees is a global shipwreck”.
It was a nod to the plot of Shakespeare’s Tempest, which features a ship sinking.
In an online statement, Just Stop Oil said the sign was a reference to a recent finding that annual global temperature rose above the internationally agreed 1.5C target for the first time in 2024.
In recent years, Just Stop Oil has targeted a number of other events and venues including the Chelsea Flower Show, the Proms, Stonehenge and the National Gallery.
Earlier this month, two women were arrested after they spray-painted over naturalist Charles Darwin’s grave inside Westminster Abbey.
This article was originally published at www.bbc.com
