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Three protesters from the climate justice group Extinction Rebellion disrupted the Broadway play “An Enemy of the People” on Thursday.
The first interruption occurred during a scene at city hall with actor Jeremy Strong’s character, according to a video from the group. published in X.
“There is no Broadway on a dead planet,” the activist is heard saying in the video. The activist is then seen being escorted out of the theater by some cast members, including Michael Imperioli.
Later, two other protesters also disrupted the play, which began its preview run at New York’s Circle in the Square Theater last month.
Extinction Rebellion uses non-violent civil disobedience to draw attention to climate change. The group’s activists blocked roads, beat each other and closed airports because of them.
in a Press releasethe group said protesters were “warning that ‘there is no theater on a dead planet’ and demanding the right to peacefully protest against the use of fossil fuels.”
The play, a revival of Henrik Ibsen, follows a doctor (Strong) who discovers that his town’s bathhouse is contaminated with a deadly disease. When he tries to speak, the doctor faces opposition from his brother (Imperioli), who is the mayor of their city.
A spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“This piece highlights that climate activists are not the enemy,” Laura Robinson, spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion, said in the press release. “But why are we treated as such? Non-violent climate protesters are being accused as if they have committed very violent acts. This is not sustainable and is unacceptable.”
Extinction Rebellion identified Lydia Woolley, Nate Smith and Kyle Butler as the activists. All three echoed the statement from Robinson’s group.
“We’re not protesting the event itself; we’re not protesting the theater; we’re not protesting the broadcasts that brought viewers here,” Woolley said. “That’s not the point. We’re here because we have to disrupt this public event as our last resort to draw public attention to the climate emergency we face today.”
Several theatergoers, including a journalist, aware about the interruption in X.
“It was jarring, but that was the point,” said Moisés Méndez II, a culture writer for Time magazine who was at the fair. Mendez said the audience initially “thought this was part of the show” but that the room had an “uncomfortable tension” after subsequent interruptions.
Online theatergoers noted that Strong and Imperioli seemed to stay in character throughout the rally.
Imperioli uploaded an Instagram post over the protest with the caption: “Tonight was wild… no hard feelings on the Extinction Rebellion team. Michael is on their side, but Mayor Stockmann is not. Much love.”
Representatives for Strong and Imperioli did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Representatives of “An Enemy of the People” declined to comment.