The opening night of Swan Lake at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre was disrupted by climate activists yesterday evening.
Protesters from Fossil Free London, some of whom wore Swan Lake-themed white dresses and black make-up, staged a demonstration inside the theatre as well as in front of the entrance, as ballet fans looked on.
The eco-warriors chanted “Sadler’s Wells, drop Barclays”, and held up a banner which read: “Cut Ties with Barclays”.
Video footage shared by Fossil Free London shows five activists, two wearing ballet customes, disrupting the interval of the show and startling guests who swiftly moved out of the way.
Black paint, simulating oil, was poured over the two tutu-clad protesters, who were posing like the show’s performers. The group says security escorted them from the building.
Fossil Free London protesters stage their demonstration during the Swan Lake interval (Image: Fossil Free London)
Earlier in the evening, as punters filed into the London venue, ten campaigners in Swan Lake costumes staged a “die-in” in front of the entrance to the building.
A banner carrying the message “Barclays Funds Bombs and Big Oil” was held aloft, and Fossil Free London said leaflets explaining their action were handed out.
The protest, the group claims, was to demand that the theatre ditch its Barclays’ sponsorship, because of the bank’s role in funding fossil fuels and its alleged position on the devastating and Palestine conflict.
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Barclays is the “Principal Supporting Partner” of the Sadler’s Wells Theatre, and according to the activists the bank is “Europe’s biggest fossil fuel financier since 2016” on a cumulative basis.
Joanna Warrington, campaigner with Fossil Free London, said: “It’s time for Sadler’s Wells to stop dancing around the issue.
“By continuing to partner with Barclays, a bank that fuels climate breakdown and genocide, Sadler’s Wells is complicit in global suffering and the destruction of our future. This sponsorship lets Barclays hide behind a veil of corporate responsibility, while it continues business as usual, bankrolling the industries driving environmental devastation and violence across the world.
“Art holds immense power to inspire change and shape our world for the better, but it’s meaningless if we don’t act to protect the future it imagines. Sadler’s Wells must choose: uphold the values of art and humanity, or remain complicit in the destruction and greed that threatens us all.”
Protesters stage a ‘die-in’ before the show (Image: Talia Woodin)
Protesters pose in tutus outside the theatre (Image: Talia Woodin)
A spokesperson for Sadler’s Wells said: “A peaceful demonstration took place outside the auditorium last night. The performance was uninterrupted, though we apologise for any disruption to our audiences.”
Earlier this year, Barclays not dispute the claim that it was Europe’s largest fossil fuel financier since 2016, when it was made by Rainforest Action Network. However, it did say that , while clean energy is scaled”, and added that its “fossil fuel financing” has fallen by 26% since 2020.
: “We have been asked why we invest in nine defence companies supplying , but this mistakes what we do. We trade in shares of listed companies in response to client instruction or demand and that may result in us holding shares.
“Whilst we provide financial services to these companies, we are not making investments for Barclays and Barclays is not a “shareholder” or “investor” in that sense in relation to these companies.
“An associated claim is that we invest in Elbit, an Israeli defence manufacturer which also supplies the UK armed forces with equipment and training.
“For the reasons mentioned, it is not true that we have made a decision to invest in Elbit. We may hold shares in relation to client driven transactions, which is why we appear on the share register, but we are not investors. We note also that Elbit is highlighted because campaigners claim it makes cluster bombs. We would cease any relationship with any business where we saw evidence that it manufactures cluster bombs or components.”
has contacted Barclays for further comment.