Two Just Stop Oil activists have been arrested after interrupting a performance of The Tempest featuring Sigourney Weaver in London’s West End. The 75-year-old actress was escorted off the stage at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane on Monday night when the protesters climbed onto the stage. Weaver, who plays the role of Prospero, a traditionally male character, was seated during the performance when the activists set off a confetti cannon and announced, “We’ll have to stop the show, ladies and gentlemen, sorry.”
A video shared by the climate protest group shows the demonstrators holding a sign that read “over 1.5 degrees is a global shipwreck,” which references the recent report indicating that 2024 marked the first full year with average temperatures surpassing 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The Metropolitan Police reported that a 42-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man were arrested on suspicion of aggravated trespass after they attended a central London police station on Tuesday and are currently in custody.
One of the protesters, Hayley Walsh, a 42-year-old lecturer from Nottingham, expressed her fears for her three children, stating, “I can’t sleepwalk them into a future of food shortages, life-threatening storms, and wars for resources.” She emphasized that despite years of advocacy, including writing to MPs and participating in marches, urgent change has not occurred.
The other activist, Richard Weir, a 60-year-old mechanical engineer from North Tyneside, remarked on the visible impacts of the climate crisis, saying, “We’re already seeing the damage this crisis is doing to crops, homes, and entire neighborhoods.” He urged collective action to transition away from fossil fuels by 2030 to avoid further decline in the UK’s manufacturing sector.
This incident is part of a series of protests by Just Stop Oil, which have included recent acts such as spray-painting Charles Darwin’s grave in Westminster.
