Just Stop Oil activists halted a performance of Les Mis on London’s West End (Picture: Just Stop Oil)
Just Stop Oil activists have halted a West End performance of Les Miserables by invading the stage.
During a performance of the song One Day More, which involves waving a red flag, a group of four protesters stormed the stage and unfurled their own Just Stop Oil flag instead, to widespread boos from the crowd.
The protesters then chained themselves to the stage with bicycle locks, prompting the performance to be halted for around 20 minutes as the cast were forced backstage and the audience were ushered outside.
Among the protesters was 23 year old community worker Hannah Taylor, who 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?
🚨 BREAKING: Just Stop Oil interrupt Les Mis.
🦺 4 people are locked to the stage of the French-revolution-themed show.
💬 “Valjean steals bread to feed a starving child. How long before we are all forced to steal?
🌡 The fossil fuel show can’t go on: https://t.co/3tlBID7nKA pic.twitter.com/nCXsIGINoS
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) October 4, 2023
‘How long before there are riots on the streets? The show cannot go on. We are facing catastrophe. New oil and gas means crop failure, starvation and death. It is an act of war on the global south and an utter betrayal of young people.’
She added: ‘Rishi Sunak has just approved Rosebank, a new oil project in the north sea which 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 due to starvation as crops fail in the increasingly extreme weather conditions.’
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‘Am I not, like Jean Valjean, justified in breaking 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 and watch, or will you stand up against our governments’ criminal plans and call for an end to new oil and gas?’
Also in attendance was 19-year-old student Poppy Bliss from, Nottingham, who said: ‘I am taking action with Just Stop Oil because I am absolutely terrified for my future. I don’t want to be disrupting people’s evenings out, but I have been left with no other choice.
The activists chained themselves to the stage and halted the performance (Picture: Just Stop Oil)
‘Our government is betraying the young and putting everyone’s futures on the line for the sake of a few votes. I am doing this because I am desperate.’
‘We are frighteningly close to losing everything we love. Everything we know will be destroyed by climate collapse. I cannot do nothing and just watch that happen. I want a liveable future for my generation and the generations to come. The show cannot go on.’
Although the reception from the crowd was unmistakably hostile, the actors reportedly had a different opinion. Following the incident, someone claiming to be an actor in the show wrote on Twitter: ‘I was one of the actors onstage. After this happened, we invited the protesters backstage for a chat.
‘Most of the other performers were so shocked by the audience’s reaction that we just wanted to let them know we support them for trying to save this planet.
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https://metro.co.uk/2023/10/04/just-stop-oil-activists-disrupt-les-mes-performance-by-invading-stage-19607564/
