Just Stop Oil's Protest During The Tempest Is An Extension Of Theatre's Radical Tradition

(MENAFN- The Conversation) The theatre has long staged and debated society's most pressing concerns. But when protest moves beyond the script and into the theatre itself, the reaction can shift from applause to confusion, and even outrage.

Such was the case last week, when a Just Stop Oil demonstration interrupted a performance of The Tempest at The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. actor Sigourney Weaver sat aghast as protesters walked on stage and fired a confetti cannon, holding placards and announcing politely:“We'll have to stop the show, ladies and gentlemen, sorry.”

Audience-members can be heard both booing and cheering in footage of the moment. But despite the shock of the crowd and actors, protest at the theatre has a long history.

The moment Just Stop Oil protestors invaded the stage during a performance of The Tempest.

Rather than interlopers like Just Stop Oil, these protests have often come from theatregoers themselves. In 1809, for example, riots erupted when the new theatre at Covent Garden in London raised its ticket prices, making theatre less accessible to working-class patrons.

For over two months, theatregoers disrupted performances with whistles, horns and placards, ultimately forcing a reversal of the price hikes. The message was clear: the theatre belonged to the people, not just the elite.

In more recent history, the feminist play The Vagina Monologues, has been the subject of protest and the vehicle for it in almost equal measure. Various groups have stood against its empowerment of women, and others have used it to fight for the very same thing.

And in 2004, the play Behzti (Dishonour) was shut down after just two days of performances at Birmingham Rep, following violent protests by members of the Sikh community.

The play, which depicted sexual abuse and murder inside a Sikh place of worship, sparked fierce opposition, with critics arguing it was deeply offensive to their faith. While the theatre was intended as a space for difficult conversations, protesters saw it as a site that needed to be defended from perceived harm.

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Political theatre

Protest is not only something that happens at the theatre but an integral part of the art-form itself. Performance holds a mirror to society and asks us to look at ourselves.

As a result, political theatre has long shaped public discourse in England. Agitprop , for example, a highly politicised theatre movement that originated in 1920s Europe and aimed to educate and mobilise audiences.

More recently in 2018, participatory London theatre company Coney staged an intervention with their youth arm, Young Coneys at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) annual dinner, blurring the line between activism and performance.

In a production called Codename Violet, young performers took on the role of activist agitators, posing as“very junior doctors”, informing guests of the health impact of diesel emission air pollution.“Is your event more important than a man's life?” asked an actor calling out the industry's role in the climate crisis.

Like the Just Stop Oil's action at The Tempest, this protest captured attention. Yet, while political theatre is often praised for its boldness, real-world disruptions are usually met with hostility.

Perhaps the key difference is control. Audiences willingly engage with radical ideas when framed within a performance, but an uninvited protest strips them of choice. This is likely where the bewilderment arises over Just Stop Oil's recent intervention. While theatre remains a space for political engagement, many still see it as a controlled environment, where the audience decides when and how to confront difficult and complicated truths.

The tension between theatre as protest and protest at the theatre reveals an ongoing struggle over who gets to dictate the terms of political discourse.

As long as theatre remains a mirror to society, the stage – and the spaces around it – will continue to be contested. Whether we see protest at the theatre as an intrusion or an extension of its radical tradition may depend on how willing we are to let performance spill into real life.

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