You are seeing “Les Miserables” in London. You are enjoying the show so much, and you are amazed by the performance, which is not just for you, but for tons of members in the audience watching. Then out of nowhere, the unexpected happens: a protest on stage! You can’t even enjoy the show when a protest is happening on stage! This is the real story of how a “Les Miserables” show got interrupted by protesters.
Five arrests were made when protesters from an environmental activist group called “Just Stop Oil” interrupted the show.
According to The Guardian, “During a performance of the song ‘Do You Hear the People Sing?’ members of the ‘Just Stop Oil group’ stormed the stage with banners. In a video of the protest posted online, the performance came to a halt as one member shouted ‘just stop oil,’ to boos from the audience.”
The curtains descended after staff members went onto stage where based on what was posted on Twitter (now X), “the group of four protesters then locked themselves to the stage.”
The group of protesters also stated on X, “Four 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?”
According to Jane Clinton from The Guardian, Hannah Taylor, of “Just Stop Oil,” was quoted by Sky News saying: “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.”
It was also confirmed in The Guardian that William Village told WhatsOnStage, “The show was stopped and the theatre was evacuated following the protest. Tickets to the performance will be refunded.”
According to information from The Guardian, “The Metropolitan Police said: ‘At about 21.00 hours on Wednesday, 4 October, police were called to a protest inside a theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue, WC1. Local officers were quickly on scene and five people have been arrested.”
Because this happened, future protesters should consider where they protest and the consequences they are willing to accept. There are charges when people are arrested for protesting, and according to Spolinlaw.com, those charges include “unlawful assembly, trespassing, and obstruction of pedestrian or vehicular traffic.” The consequences of those charges range from four to six months behind bars, and fines ranging from $400-2,000. Maybe next time, “’Just Stop Oil’ protesters will actually think before they act because of what happened when the protest interrupted ‘Les Miserables.”