Two Just Stop Oil protesters have been charged following the disruption of a West End production of The Tempest, starring Sigourney Weaver.
Richard Weir, 60, of Hotspur Street, Tynemouth, and Hayley Walsh, 42, of Grantham Road, Radcliffe on Trent, were charged with aggravated trespass on Tuesday, according to the London Metropolitan Police.
Police said the charges related to an incident at Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, where at around 8pm, two Just Stop Oil protesters entered the stage area.
Weir and Walsh are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 25 February.
🚨 BREAKING: THE TEMPEST WEST END PERFORMANCE DISRUPTED
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) January 27, 2025
🎭 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
Footage saw two people take to the stage during the play’s first act carrying a sign that said “over 1.5 degrees is a global shipwreck”, seemingly a nod to the Shakespeare play’s plot, involving the sinking of a ship.
The two people then popped an orange confetti canon to a mixed response from the audience as a voice called out: "We'll have to stop the show, ladies and gents, sorry."
Hollywood star Weaver, who plays Prospero in the production, had been sitting in a chair on stage when she was escorted away by a member of the theatre’s staff.
Just Stop Oil claimed responsibility for the disruption not long after, where they claimed the sign had been a reference to the recent news that 2024 was the first full year over the 1.5C safe limit for global temperature rise, initially agreed by world leaders at the Paris Agreement in 2015.
