Virtue signalling on-stage protestors should be prosecuted

Telegraph

6 days ago

Around 50 per cent of the population now feels that the UK is becoming a 'lawless' country, according to an opinion poll.
It is understandable the public should feel this way. Police and prosecutorial inaction when dealing with protestors, judicial failures in sentencing violent or sexual offenders, horrific increases in open anti-Semitism, mindless vandalism – the list goes on.
A large part of the reason for the view that lawlessness is prevailing is because the public see incidents like the protest at the Royal Opera House last weekend, when a cast member unfurled a Palestinian flag on stage during the curtain call of Verdi's Il Trovatore, going unpunished. (Ironically the flag was actually an invention of the British colonial authorities in 1916 so not as symbolic of independence as some imagine).
It's not the first time West End productions have been disrupted. Activists held a protest on stage midway through a performance of The Tempest at Drury Lane in January when protestors walked onto the stage. Protesters previously disrupted a performance of Les Miserables. There was also an interruption to the First Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall in 2023.
The law-abiding public are sick of the constant self-indulgent virtue signalling by people who think their cause trumps the right of everyone else to go about their lawful business.
The enjoyment of hundreds of other people and the hard work of hundreds of cast and crew is affected by the disruptive actions of a handful of people. When the authorities fail to act against such incidents it has a consequence. It empowers others to indulge their own protests on another occasion.
Many audience members have been looking forward to their attendance at these productions. The disruptors care not a jot.
But there are things that can be done.
As a former arts minister I would say that it is sadly now incumbent on all theatres to have a protocol in place to deal with a protest the moment one occurs. Lower the curtain immediately, cut the stage lights, silence the sound system. Press a cut-off switch like the BBC failed to do at Glastonbury.
The police should always be called. There are offences under the Public Order Act which may apply. For a protestor in the audience, the offence of aggravated trespass may apply. It occurs when a person trespasses on land and intentionally disrupts a lawful activity.
For a crew or cast member, the police and Crown Prosecution Service may consider legislation such as the very rarely used Theatres Act 1968.
This was the Act that abolished the ancient role of the Lord Chamberlain in supervising theatre productions. But the Act allowed prosecutions for such things as obscenity and public order offences.
If a cast member can be said to be 'putting on a performance', for example, with intent to cause 'provocation of a breach of the peace' that might potentially be applicable. The Act applies to people 'presenting or directing a performance.' Arguably a cast member could be said to be 'presenting' a performance even if he or she acts independently of the rest of the cast.
Some imaginative thinking may be required by the authorities – but ignoring this sort of thing is a recipe for more audience members having their special occasion spoilt.