NO THEATRE ON A DEAD PLANET
March 14, 2024
xrnyc_press@unitedrebellion.com
NO THEATER ON A DEAD PLANET: ACTIVISTS DISRUPT “AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE” TO PROTEST UNFAIR CHARGES GIVEN TO CLIMATE ACTIVISTS
Manhattan, New York City – Extinction Rebellion protestors interrupted a performance of “An Enemy of the People” Thursday night, warning there is "no theater on a dead planet," and demanding the right to peacefully protest against the use of fossil fuels.
This action follows a tradition of nonviolent civil disobedience in arts and theater, such as Parisian students’ occupation of the Odéon theatre in 1968— not to mention theater itself as a powerful medium for provoking social change. Today’s action highlights the failure of governments and corporations to treat climate and ecological breakdown as the crisis it is. The group emphasizes that the present socio-economic system can't protect people from the environmental crises to come, because its very structure creates these crises and then ignores them. The extremely short-term incentives of our key institutions — corporations and governments, which respectively function on quarterly profits and periodic elections, disregard the long-term dangers to our survival. This system steals from future generations by burning fossil fuels at industrial scale, sustaining a system that primarily benefits the few.
Recently, peaceful protestors in Washington D.C. and Atlanta have been given very serious sentences and charges, punishing nonviolent and constitutionally guaranteed political expression. In April 2023, Joanna Smith and Tim Martin applied paint solely to a glass case enclosing Edgar Degas' renowned wax sculpture, "Little Dancer Aged Fourteen Years" at the National Gallery of Art to bring media attention to the climate crisis and demand that President Biden declare a climate emergency. For this stunt, which did not permanently or irreparably damage the artwork, Martin and Smith were charged with “conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and injury to a National Gallery of Art exhibit.” Both charges combined carry a potential penalty of ten years in prison and fines of $500,000.
WHY “NO THEATER ON A DEAD PLANET?”
The climate and ecological crisis threatens everything on our planet, including the theater. This action and similar actions are the response of a movement that has no other recourse than to engage in unconventional means of protest to bring mass attention to the greatest emergency of our time. All normal means of affecting change appropriate to the scale of the catastrophe – including voting, petitioning, lobbying, etc. – have failed and continue to fail. Yet the science makes clear that we have only a very small window of time in which to transition from fossil fuels and stop carbon emissions.
The group is also highlighting the fact that unexpected weather in New York City has led to the cancellation of many public performances and events. Last summer, when an oppressive heat wave hit NYC during the U.S. Open, tennis player Daniil Medvedev warned cameras: "One player is gonna die. And they're gonna see." As weather forecasting becomes more unpredictable, shows are even canceling their performances without actual inclement weather, as happened last September.
Theater-as-usual won't be possible on a planet in which humanity fails to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius. If activists don’t disrupt these shows, dangerous weather will make it impossible for the show to go on.
DEMANDS
Just as “An Enemy of the People” demands people act, Extinction Rebellion too is demanding immediate action.
Recently, Professor Sir Bob Watson, a prominent British climate scientist and former head of the United Nations climate body, stated that the target to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius will be missed. At the same time, President Joe Biden has not lived up to his 2020 climate campaign pledges and rhetoric. Even those pledges are considered by many to be ineffective and weak: policies such as electric cars, carbon capture, or expanded renewables do not adequately resolve the looming catastrophe. Furthermore, the Biden administration’s actions, which include fossil fuel oil and gas drilling, production and export are worse than failure. The Willow Project, a new oil drilling project, and Alaska LNG, commonly referred to as “carbon bombs,” will trigger catastrophic climate breakdown to an extent no known climate technology can undo or repair.
Extinction Rebellion demands the government tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025. These demands reflect the urgency of the existential crisis that we’re facing.
QUOTES
“We're not protesting the event itself; we are not protesting theater; we are not protesting the emissions that brought spectators to get here. That's not the point. We are here because we have to disrupt this public event as our last resort to draw public attention to the climate emergency we are facing today,” said Lydia Woolley, one of the activist on stage.
"I'm here because I love the theater, and there will be no theater on a dead planet. There will be no theater when wildfire smoke makes the air impossible to breathe,” said Nate Smith, one of the activists who disrupted the play.
“We cannot wait to be saved. Governments have failed us. Governments are so threatened by the truth, so afraid to be exposed for their willful negligence, that they're attempting to silence non-violent activists with draconian sentences”, said Kyle Butler, one of the activist in the audience.
“This play highlights that climate activists are not the enemy. But why are we being treated as such? Non-violent climate protestors are being charged as if they have committed very violent acts. This is not sustainable and this is unacceptable,” said Laura Robinson, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion.
“This is a popular play! It’s popular because it’s about climate which is a popular topic. We should be writing about climate more!” said Miles Grant, an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson.
“It is left for regular people like you and I to take extreme measures to protect ourselves and our loved ones,” said Jack Baldwin, a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion.
About Extinction Rebellion
Extinction Rebellion is a global, nonpartisan climate justice movement using nonviolent direct action to pressure governments to act now to address the climate and ecological emergency and listen to the people’s call for a just, livable future.
The climate crisis is here and now. It’s happening all around us, noticeable to some more than others. Extinction Rebellion demands that everyone, especially important institutions and governments, tell the truth about the sixth mass extinction we are currently in. Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by their Government.
Internationally, Extinction Rebellion has been demanding that those with power act now to halt the worst of the climate catastrophe we’re living through. Unlike other climate advocacy groups, Extinction Rebellion understands that we must lead by example, demonstrating the decision-making we wish to see used to address this crisis. Only by going beyond politics and establishing citizens assemblies can we adequately build the fair and just transition we all deserve.
Extinction Rebellion is fighting for a more stable, sustainable world, and is leading by example.
Follow us: Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Website