Five activists from Just Stop Oil were arrested after storming the stage during a packed Les Miserables show at the Sondheim Theatre in London’s West End. The environmental group drew attention to their cause by interrupting the iconic protest anthem, urging the audience to “join the rebellion.”
The Metropolitan Police responded to reports of a protest inside the theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue at around 9pm. Just Stop Oil, known for previous high-profile actions such as Wimbledon disruptions, once again made headlines with this stunt.
As the song “Do You Hear The People Sing?” played, protesters appeared at both ends of the stage, unfurling bright orange banners featuring their logo. The cast was forced to stop performing and was eventually escorted offstage, bringing the show to a halt amid stunned silence and angry boos from the audience.
On the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Just Stop Oil stated that four members had “locked” themselves to the stage. They drew a parallel between the musical’s hero Jean Valjean’s desperate act of stealing bread to feed a starving child and the urgent need to address the climate crisis. The group declared, “The fossil fuel show can’t go on.”
The disruption caused mixed reactions among the crowd, with some audience members shouting at the protesters to “get off.” Just Stop Oil confirmed that the theatre was evacuated by 9:10pm and the performance was cancelled for the night.
Originally published by UKNIP.
