Climate protesters disrupt Broadway play starring Jeremy Strong

A trio of anti-climate change protesters disrupted a performance of “An Enemy of the People,” starring Jeremy Strong, on Broadway Thursday evening, shouting “no theater on a dead planet” as they were escorted out.

The show they disrupted is the best-selling new play on Broadway, thanks to audiences’ interest in Strong, who is riding a wave of fame stemming from his portrayal of Kendall Roy in the HBO drama “Succession.” Strong lead role in the play as a doctor who becomes a pariah after discovering that his town’s spa pools are contaminated with bacteria; showing that information can protect public health, but endanger the local economy.

The protest, in front of a sold-out crowd at the 828-seat Circle in the Square theater, confused some attendees, who initially thought it was part of the play. It was performed during the second half, during a town hall scene in which some spectators sat on the stage and some actors among the spectators. Although the play was written by Henrik Ibsen in the 19th century, this new version, by Amy Herzog, is occasionally described as having thematic echoes of the climate change crisis.

Strong stayed in character throughout the protest and at one point even said a protester could continue speaking, said Jesse Green, a critic for The New York Times who was one of several journalists and critics in the audience for a press. taster evening. “I thought it was all scripted,” Green said. “The timing was perfect to fit the town meeting on stage, and the topic was related.”

The protest was organized by a group called Extinction Rebellion NYC, which disrupted a performance at the Met Opera and a match during the US Open semifinals last year. Other climate protesters around the world have taken to defacing artwork hanging in museums, but a spokesperson for the New York group said it had not engaged in that specific protest tactic.

A spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion NYC, Miles Grant, explained the targeting of popular events, saying: “We want to disrupt the things we love because we risk losing absolutely everything the way things are going.”

Police attended the scene but said they had made no arrests after theater management chose not to press charges.

The protest started when a man stood up during the City Hall scene and started shouting about climate change. Two of the actors in the play, David Patrick Kelly and Michael Imperioli, told the man to leave, according to witnesses and a video of the disturbance. As the first protester was escorted out, another stood up in another part of the theater. Some members of the crowd booed and there were cheers as she was escorted out. Then a third protester showed up.

Although the police arrived, some audience members still left the show unsure whether the protest was part of the performance or not.

Maria Kramer reporting contributed.