Two people have been arrested after Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted a West End production of The Tempest starring Sigourney Weaver.
The environmentalist group said on Monday that protesters had taken to the stage at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, with footage posted online of the pair carrying a sign that said “over 1.5 degrees is a global shipwreck”.
Mother-of-three Hayley Walsh, 42, from Nottingham, and mechanical engineer Richard Weir, 60, from Tynemouth, North Tyneside, set off a confetti cannon, announcing: “We’ll have to stop the show ladies and gentlemen, sorry”, to boos and cheers from the crowd.
Their sign refers to attempts to limit global warming to 1.5C and reduce the impact of climate change.
🚨 BREAKING: THE TEMPEST WEST END PERFORMANCE DISRUPTED
🎭 2 Just Stop Oil supporters climbed onto the stage, stopping a performance starring legendary actor Sigourney Weaver.
🖋️ 1.5 degrees is a global shipwreck. Sign up for action this April: https://t.co/guLYY5sk5C
Video… pic.twitter.com/2BIxCVT4lO
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) January 27, 2025
Last year was the warmest on record globally and the first full year when the average temperature exceeded 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
Alien star Weaver, 75, was escorted off stage before the protesters were ushered away.
On Tuesday the Metropolitan Police said officers had arrived at the venue after the campaigners had left.
Two people, a 42-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man, were arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of aggravated trespass after attending a central London police station.
Anyone with information can contact police on 101 quoting CAD 2453/28JAN, or contact the force on X @MetCC.
