Three members from the Extinction Rebellion NYC climate activist group disrupted the March 14 performance of the Broadway revival "An Enemy of the People," which brought the Jeremy Strong and Michael Imperioli-led production to a brief pause.
In videos posted to X (formerly Twitter) by Time Magazine's Moises Mendez II, two activists can be seen in the middle of their demonstration, with one shouting: "No theater on a dead planet," before being escorted out by production staff.
Climate protesters from Extinction Rebellion disrupted tonight’s #AnEnemyOfThePeople show in NYC three separate times and the cast joined in to getting them out. Jeremy Strong stayed in character because dramaturgically it made sense. pic.twitter.com/3Keg4fIDQg
— Moises Mendez II (@MoisesFenty) March 15, 2024
The incident first sparked about halfway through the stage play, during a town hall scene where selected audience members are invited to fill in the role of the meeting's attendees, which led several theatergoers to assume the protest was part of the performance.
According to a report by Deadline, the disruption came after Strong, who was portraying Doctor Thomas Stockmann, delivered a line from the script asking the audience for objections.
The three activists then made successive demonstrations, all revolving around climate change and the needed action to address it. One of the protesters even had a shouting match with the Emmy-winning actor Imperioli, still in character as Peter Stockmann.
Imperioli then addressed the incident on an Instagram post later on the night, writing: "Tonight was wild... No hard feelings Extinction Rebellion crew. Michael is on your side but Mayor Stockmann is not."
As of now, there's no confirmation whether or not charges have been or would be filed, however, there had been a sighting of an NYPD vehicle with active lights outside the Circle in the Square Theatre following the incident, as per Deadline.
(Photo : Moises Mendez II via X)
About Broadway's 'An Enemy of the People'
The revival of the Henrik Ibsen classic itself shares a political undertone to the incident that transpired last Thursday night, March 14, as its story revolves around the morally driven character of Doctor Thomas Stockmann in his quest to alert a small Norwegian town that its spa's water is poisoned.
This revelation was then met with public outcries in fear of possibly facing financial loss as the spa is the town's main source of income, and narratively, this outcome is the play's way of examining the moral intricacies behind outrage and the struggles that whistleblowers carry.
"An Enemy of the People" is directed by Tony winner Sam Gold and adapted by Tony-nominated playwright Amy Herzog. Joining both Strong and Imperioli as production leads is "The Haunting of Hill House" actress Victoria Pedretti, who plays the role of Petra Stockmann.
The cast also includes David Patrick Kelly (Once) as Morten Kiil, Katie Broad as Randine, Bill Buell (Ink), Caleb Eberhardt (Choir Boy) as Hovstad, Matthew August Jeffers as Billing, David Mattar Merten, Max Roll (Good Night, Oscar), Thomas Jay Ryan as Aslaksen, and Alan Trong as Captain Horster.
For more information about the play, visit its official website by clicking here.
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