Five Just Stop Oil activists erupted on Wednesday performances The Miserable at a theater in London’s West End, they put up a banner calls for an end to oil drilling in the UK and chained themselves to the stage with bicycle locks. The Sondheim Theater was evacuated minutes later and The activists were arrested.

“The show cannot go on,” said activist Hannah Taylor, at the time of the interruption when the actors waved the revolutionary flag and they start interpreting Do you hear people singing?. The music stopped playing and environmentalists waved their orange banners to the confusion of the public, who had not attended an event like this in the 36 years since the work was inspired by the novel by Victor Hugo.

“The show begins when Jean Valjean steals bread so he can feed his sister’s hungry son,” said Hannah Taylor. “How long before we have to steal bread and riot in the streets. We face disaster!”

“Like the revolutionaries in The Miserable“We call on the public to join civil resistance against the Government’s criminal plans to maximize oil and gas reserves,” read a statement issued by the group.

The action in the West End comes after one year since the launch of tomato soup fight Sunflower by Van Gogh at the National Gallery, led by two Just Stop Oil activists, Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland, who were arrested and brought before a judge several days later. Both pleaded “not guilty” and a trial is scheduled for July 22, 2024. The painting was not seriously damaged because it was protected by glass.

This group’s new attacks began as a result of a reversal of environmental policy premiereRishi Sunak and the announcement of greater oil prospects in the North Sea, had put theatrical producers on guard, fearing similar disruption.

Theater producer and Just Stop Oil spokesperson, Chloe Naldrett, defended the group’s actions: “As artists and representatives of cultural institutions, we have a responsibility to tell stories that reflect the world around us. And right now we fight for our lives and people around the world experiencing the impacts of the climate crisis this summer.

Just Stop Oil took part in several actions in Manchester this week, coinciding with the Conservative Party’s national conference. Minister of the Interior, Suella Braverman, he immediately called them “eco-idiots”, and vowed to use new laws against street protests to reduce the impact of their actions on “law-abiding citizens.” Conservative tabloid Daily Mail condemned his latest intervention in a headline: “The neighborhood clowns were booed as they attacked The Miserable“.