Climate Change Protesters Interrupt Performance of AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE
The protesters could be heard shouting "No theater on a dead planet" as they approached.
By: Stephi Wild Mar. 15, 2024
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Climate change protesters from the group Extinction Rebellion stormed the stage at last night's performance of An Enemy of the People on Broadway. The protesters could be heard shouting "No theater on a dead planet" as they approached.
Michael Imperioli, who plays Peter Stockmann in the play, stayed in character, helping to remove the protesters from the scene without causing further disruption to the performance. According to several reports on social media, many audience members believed it was a planned part of the show.
Several clips from the moment are circulating on X, and can be seen 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
Climate protesters from Extinction Rebellion disrupted tonight’s #AnEnemyOfThePeople show in NYC three separate times and the cast joined in to getting them out. Jeremy Strong stayed in character because dramaturgically it made sense. pic.twitter.com/3Keg4fIDQg
— Moises Mendez II (@MoisesFenty) March 15, 2024
"We're not protesting the event itself; we are not protesting theater; we are not protesting the emissions that brought spectators to get here. That's not the point," said Lydia Woolley, one of the activist on stage. "We are here because we have to disrupt this public event as our last resort to draw public attention to the climate emergency we are facing today."
This isn't the only time protesters have interrupted a professional theatrical performance. Most recently, protesters from Just Stop Oil stormed the stage at a performance of Les Miserables in London last October.
UPDATE: Imperioli has responded to the situation on Instagram, writing: "Tonight was wild….no hard feelings extinction rebellion crew. michael is on your side but mayor stockmann is not. much love. m."
About An Enemy of the People
The play stars Emmy, Golden Globe & SAG Award-winner Jeremy Strong, Emmy & SAG Award winner Michael Imperioli, critically acclaimed film and television star Victoria Pedretti, and Katie Broad, Bill Buell, Caleb Eberhardt, Matthew August Jeffers, David Patrick Kelly, David Mattar Merten, Max Roll, Thomas Jay Ryan, and Alan Trong.
This production of Henrik Ibsen’s thunderous masterwork AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE is adapted by Tony Award Nominee Amy Herzog, directed by Tony Award Winner Sam Gold, and will play a strictly limited 16-week engagement, officially opening Monday, March 18, 2024, at Broadway’s Circle in the Square Theatre.
A small-town doctor considers himself a proud, upstanding member of his close-knit community. When he discovers a catastrophe that risks the lives of everyone in town, he raises the alarm. But he is shaken to his core when those in power not only try to silence him—they try to destroy him.
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