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Post by anxiousoctopus on Oct 4, 2023 22:46:20 GMT
To mirror what others are saying: completely agree with the cause, but so many of their protests are pointless and seem to intend to annoy as many people as possible while making no progress except scapegoating themselves.
The message of the protest comes across as a smug ‘Oh you enjoy a show about a protest yet are upset at a real protest? It really makes you think, huh?’ - and it’s a lot of effort behind a kind of lame gotcha message.
But At The End Of The Day (haha) the show has nothing to do with oil, most of the people in the audience used public transport to get there - and also it’s putting extra work and stress onto the working employees of the theatre. Although I’ll admit some of the audience members did show themselves up by shouting ‘get a job’ at the protestors, read the room guys!
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Post by starlight92 on Oct 4, 2023 22:56:28 GMT
Very classy and well-balanced statement.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2023 22:58:07 GMT
They wouldn't have been able to get close to the Tory Conference given the security measures. I would happily suggest they go and protest in China and even pay for the return ticket although that may have to wait about 30 years before they are free to fly back.
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Post by firefingers on Oct 4, 2023 23:00:05 GMT
I do support the goals of Just Stop Oil, but their methods often just cause unnecessary upset. The show is an apposite location for such a protest in a way, a group of people rebelling in protest, worried about their future etc, but this was possibly a step too far. I'd support them locking themselves to the set at say the bows, so everyone has still had their show but the protest and warning over the climate crisis is still heard. When people have to pay travel and accommodation costs it really isn't fair to remove that night from them.
It'll also means that now theatres are gonna freak with increased security to ensure they don't have to refund another house. Back to thorough bag searches etc I suspect.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2023 23:03:54 GMT
This is just terrible! Surely they had to have purchased a ticket to get in? What about security checks at the theatre? The powder can easily to concealed on the body, in a phone case, a make up bag etc. The ushers/security are likely checking for alchol, knives etc so I wouldn't blame them. I'd like to know where they were sat as they must have approached the stage and got up onto it. Not like just hopping a barrier as they did at the snooker. A lot of these protesters are rich kids so I guess they afford a ticket pretty easily. |
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Post by erik24601 on Oct 4, 2023 23:05:40 GMT
They should have protested for Cameron to bring back the revolve. Didn't Cameron say he wanted to "cut the Green crap"? Edit. Sorry that was David Cameron. Not Cameron Mackintosh. As you were. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 |
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Post by erik24601 on Oct 4, 2023 23:08:12 GMT
Surely protesting at the currently ongoing Tory party conference in Manchester would have been better? I know common sense is seemingly lacking when it comes to their choices in protest locations but still.... Absolutely. This is bigger than just this. This government have single-handedly destroyed our country in the last decade. We are an embarrassment. They should protest at the top, not at those who are working so hard to keep the country going. I don’t imagine there’s any oil used in the production of Les Mis. |
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Post by anxiousoctopus on Oct 4, 2023 23:08:38 GMT
It also annoys me that they have the wherewithal to organise proper protests and disruptions that make an actual statement - but so many of them seem to put all their effort into pointless unrelated acts that just destroy any sense of good will to the cause.
Even in regards to the ‘all publicity is good publicity’ angle, this will be forgotten by the next news cycle and will just reinforce people’s association to JSO with ‘ugh them again’
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Post by marob on Oct 4, 2023 23:11:01 GMT
The security checks are performative BS though aren’t they? Didn’t the attackers in Paris show up after the concert started and just shoot their way in. No amount of shining a torch in a handbag is going to stop that happening.
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Post by sph on Oct 4, 2023 23:40:48 GMT
Waiting until the curtain call would have still secured their desired media attention so why interrupt the show?
As for what theatres can do to stop it? I mean... they can't. If cable ties are used to attach themselves to the set, they can easily be concealed in a pocket without arousing any suspicion.
There's really no way of knowing. These protestors probably looked like regular audience members. They don't seem to have been carrying weapons of any kind so there's no real reason for security to stop them on entry. Staff can be extra vigilant in the auditorium, but if a patron leaps out of their seat and storms the stage, what can they realistically do? Even well positioned security wouldn't get there in time.
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Post by sph on Oct 4, 2023 23:42:11 GMT
The security checks are performative BS though aren’t they? Didn’t the attackers in Paris show up after the concert started and just shoot their way in. No amount of shining a torch in a handbag is going to stop that happening. I believe this is true. Bag checks are a visual deterrent to make security more visible to any potentially threatening people watching the venue. |
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Post by nash16 on Oct 5, 2023 0:27:48 GMT
Those audience reactions. It’s brilliant. And depressing. You couldn’t write it. Do they know what they’re watching? The themes and content? Made me roar.
Good on JSO. It may affect one evening or one drive, but for the price we’re all going to pay in the future, a little deviation from what was planned, and a moment to confront what the bigger importance is; just vital.
And they’re number one on BBC News so they’re still getting publicity in the right ways. I’m sure if they could have infiltrated the Tories (as they have done many times before) at their rally, they would have.
Do we know if there’s footage of Cameron reacting to the news? He’d be PURPLE!
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Post by mkb on Oct 5, 2023 1:43:02 GMT
What concerns me is the video showing staff standing on stage doing nothing. Ok, so these turned out to be peaceful protesters, albeit ones with no human empathy for the hundreds of people whose night they ruined, but what if they had had more nefarious objectives?
If 9/11 and what happened on those planes taught us anything, it's that, whether you are an employee or a bystander, the instant you see people attempting to disrupt, you don't just go all ostrich; you get immediately involved and stop it going any further.
It's a good thing I wasn't sat near any of those stage invaders tonight.
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Post by Oobi on Oct 5, 2023 2:05:33 GMT
Those audience reactions. It’s brilliant. And depressing. You couldn’t write it. Do they know what they’re watching? The themes and content? Made me roar. FFS. JSO are not revolutionaries. They're YouTube pranksters with hats. |
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Post by toomasj on Oct 5, 2023 4:01:24 GMT
I think custodial sentences would be appropriate and entirely justified when it comes to sentencing. What on earth does Les Mis have to do with climate change? This is incredibly damaging to the JSO cause. Deplorable behaviour from a bunch of self-serving scrotes.
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Post by sukhavati on Oct 5, 2023 5:21:02 GMT
Waiting until the curtain call would have still secured their desired media attention so why interrupt the show? As for what theatres can do to stop it? I mean... they can't. If cable ties are used to attach themselves to the set, they can easily be concealed in a pocket without arousing any suspicion. There's really no way of knowing. These protestors probably looked like regular audience members. They don't seem to have been carrying weapons of any kind so there's no real reason for security to stop them on entry. Staff can be extra vigilant in the auditorium, but if a patron leaps out of their seat and storms the stage, what can they realistically do? Even well positioned security wouldn't get there in time. This is where music venues have the edge. Security guards - massive blokes - between the barricades and the stage placed every meter or so to keep people from leaping up on the stage unless the artist wants to purposely bring someone out of the audience. Are theatre owners prepared to lose revenue from the first two rows to have a small security team placed there with eyes on the crowd at all times? |
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Post by sukhavati on Oct 5, 2023 5:28:55 GMT
What concerns me is the video showing staff standing on stage doing nothing. Ok, so these turned out to be peaceful protesters, albeit ones with no human empathy for the hundreds of people whose night they ruined, but what if they had had more nefarious objectives? If 9/11 and what happened on those planes taught us anything, it's that, whether you are an employee or a bystander, the instant you see people attempting to disrupt, you don't just go all ostrich; you get immediately involved and stop it going any further. It's a good thing I wasn't sat near any of those stage invaders tonight. It's not ostriching - in some cases there may be company guidelines that no matter how bad the behavior, staff are not allowed to physically touch the miscreants. There are liability issues, including the type who would claim they were injured by staff members who tried to intervene resulting in a lawsuit (frivolous). If the company has that kind of policy then staff is supposed to wait for police to arrive and take the trouble makers out.
Personally, if it had been me, I would have taken that flag and prodded those idiots on the bum. Not hard enough to force them into the orchestra pit, but enough to make an impression. I agree that climate change is a huge issue, BUT, an auditorium full of people who have nothing to do with the government are only going to be completely turned off by JSO's methods. Why aren't they in Manchester or Westminster? If they are indeed rich kids with a cause, why aren't they working mum and dad's contacts?
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Post by christya on Oct 5, 2023 6:08:40 GMT
What an absolute bunch of arseholes. When they do something like this, I don't care why they do it, I don't care what they have to say. They need to be dragged out by any means necessary. Some people will have travelled a long way to see the show, and not everyone can afford to do it a second time. Frankly I wish they'd been tackled and sat on before they got to the stage. Failing that, it's time the law actually punished them properly. Jail time.
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Post by ceebee on Oct 5, 2023 6:16:37 GMT
Let's be clear. Just Stop Oil and their ilk are attention-seeking tossers who are hypocrites of the highest order. Anybody who actually believes they stand for anything needs their head seeing to. Far more effective environmental groups have influenced the agenda constructively even getting big oil firms to sit up and listen. Just Stop Oil are a bunch of disruptive hi-vis middle class fannies targeting the average Joe with antagonistic methods which will one day see them get serious comeuppance. As somebody else said online: "Come down to the next Millwall game and try this." They don't and they won't because ultimately they are spineless. Anybody who thinks we can live in a world without oil right now is deluded. Current net-zero goals are an unachievable fallacy dreamt up by incompetent politicians who know they won't ever be held to account. If we're going to set goals, let's make them achievable and realistic.
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Post by anthony40 on Oct 5, 2023 6:16:59 GMT
Whilst I recognise the right to free speech and to protest, as previously stated, I think this is just terrible.
This could have been so much worse! Thank God that both the actors on stage and the members of the audience are all safe 🙏
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Post by max on Oct 5, 2023 6:52:01 GMT
Those audience reactions. It’s brilliant. And depressing. You couldn’t write it. Do they know what they’re watching? The themes and content? Made me roar. Good on JSO. It may affect one evening or one drive, but for the price we’re all going to pay in the future, a little deviation from what was planned, and a moment to confront what the bigger importance is; just vital. And they’re number one on BBC News so they’re still getting publicity in the right ways. I’m sure if they could have infiltrated the Tories (as they have done many times before) at their rally, they would have. Do we know if there’s footage of Cameron reacting to the news? He’d be PURPLE! To be fair, this was nothing compared to his own protest at the rehearsals of 'Barnum', as filmed for that C4 documentary. CM joining in last night could have gone something like this: 'Listen, you may want an end to new oil licences and a future for the planet you and your children will inherit, but I want 'Colours of My Life', and I'm supergluing myself to the barricades until I get it!' |
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Post by actorsinger on Oct 5, 2023 7:24:01 GMT
For the cost of ticket prices and travel and accommodation that the audience last night will have forked out, what JSO did was theft. They stole thousands and thousands of pounds from the people in the audience last night, refund or not. Of course they have a legitimate point of protest but they really do go the wrong way about it. Alienating the people who probably agree with their issues.
They’re too scared to actually protest where it matters, where the big money is and the CEO’s. Ridiculous and dangerous behaviour.
My concern is for the safety of all the theatre staff going forward. This might encourage copycats etc.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Oct 5, 2023 7:31:37 GMT
How meta
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Post by anthony40 on Oct 5, 2023 7:41:01 GMT
I must admit, the thought of copycats at any performance of any show crossed my mind.
Cam Mac would NOT be a happy man this morning!
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Post by mkb on Oct 5, 2023 8:34:17 GMT
If I were in the oil industry and intent on promoting it, I would be covertly funding JSO. JSO is more successful than any lobby group in driving public opinion against support for green policies.
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