Climate change activists disrupted a performance of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People on Broadway on Thursday, bringing a halt to the play starring Succession actor Jeremy Strong and The Sopranos actor Michael Imperioli.
The group Extinction Rebellion NYC has claimed responsibility for the disruption.
Video from Thursday’s performance at New York’s Circle in the Square Theatre has gone viral, showing the protestors wearing t-shirts reading “There Is No Theater on a Dead Planet.”
One protestor identified himself as a “theater artist” while another shouted “Don’t forget Tim Martin” — a reference to the climate change activist who was arrested for vandalizing an Edgar Degas sculpture at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., last year.
Watch below:
🚨#BREAKING - Rebels disrupted #AnEnemyOfThePeople on #Broadway. #Climate activists aren't the enemy; it's fossil fuel criminals like Exxon & Chevron. If we don’t #EndFossilFuels now, there'll be #NoTheatreOnADeadPlanet [THREAD] pic.twitter.com/9oFHSrzAMb
— Extinction Rebellion NYC 🌎 (@XR_NYC) March 15, 2024
Extinction Rebellion said it chose to protest An Enemy of the People because the Henrik Ibsen play deals with the contamination of public water. “Sadly this mirrors reality,” the group said.
3/ Activists are facing harsh sentences for nonviolent protest. Joanna Smith and Tim Martin protested at the National Gallery of Art to highlight the climate crisis. They face up to ten years in prison and fines of $500,000. pic.twitter.com/C3RFyflb9y
— Extinction Rebellion NYC 🌎 (@XR_NYC) March 15, 2024
During the disruption on Thursday, actors Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli appeared to stay in character as they tried to make the activists leave.
Extinction Rebellion NYC issued a press release tied to the group’s publicity stunt.
“Theater-as-usual won’t be possible on a planet in which humanity fails to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius. If activists don’t disrupt these shows, dangerous weather will make it impossible for the show to go on,” the group said.
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