Sigourney Weaver Was Interrupted Mid-Performance by Just Stop Oil Protesters
The protest was met with both applause and anger by theatergoers.
Published Jan. 28 2025, 10:45 a.m. ET
Theatergoers in London's West End were treated to a double feature when a performance of Shakespeare's The Tempest was interrupted by protesters on Jan. 27, 2025.
Just Stop Oil protestors took the stage during Sigourney Weaver's monologue to raise awareness about rising global temperatures. The organization has been very active in 2024 and 2025, trying to draw high-level attention to the Earth reaching a dangerous milestone temperature.
Keep reading to learn more about the peaceful protest from Just Stop Oil, including what happened to the two protestors and how the audience felt about the mid-show interruption that caused the play's star to leave the stage.
Just Stop Oil protesters interrupted Sigourney Weaver during her performance in 'The Tempest.'
Weaver was in the middle of delivering her lines when, according to the BBC, two protesters—a 60-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman —climbed on stage with a giant orange sign that said, "Over 1.5 C is a global shipwreck." The specific degree reference has been used by Just Stop Oil before to draw attention to the reported 1.5-degree Celsius increase in the Earth's global temperature.
1.5 degrees is the amount by which temperatures have exceeded what was once thought to be the "safe limit" for global increases, according to the Just Stop Oil website. This figure was established during the Paris Agreement in 2015.
The protest seemed to be particularly tailored to Weaver's performance in the play since The Tempest features a shipwreck.
The audience had mixed feelings about the performance being interrupted.
While it's likely that people paid handsomely to watch the Hollywood star in her role, it seems not everyone was upset when the pair of protesters climbed up on stage and apologized for interrupting the show, firing a confetti cannon on the stage.
Their appearance was met with both cheers and jeers as a stagehand quickly ran up to escort Weaver and her costar out of the way. Someone called the police, and both protestors were arrested.
According to the BBC, the Metropolitan Police were holding the pair — who were identified by Just Stop Oil as Hayley Walsh and Richard Weir — on suspicion of aggravated trespass. When asked why they protested, Walsh told Just Stop Oil she was afraid for her three children.
Weir, a mechanical engineer, said he spent his life in manufacturing, watching "management inaction" destroy his career.
"Now I see similar failures of leadership as politicians refuse to take action to protect us and our loved ones,” he continued. "We’re already seeing the damage this crisis is doing to crops, homes, and entire neighborhoods. Unless we come together and demand a move away from fossil fuels by 2030, we will go the same way as manufacturing in the UK."
Both protesters are still being held by police at the time of publication.