Heaven knows, they’re Miserables now – protesters punished for theatrical disruption

Five people have been convicted of aggravated trespass after a Les Misérables performance at the Sondheim Theatre in central London was disrupted by Just Stop Oil protesters.

The performance at the Shaftesbury Avenue venue on the evening of Wednesday, October 4 last year was halted at around 9pm after a group of people entered the stage area.

Police were called and local officers were quickly on scene. Five people were arrested and later charged.

They were found guilty of aggravated trespass at Westminster Magistrates Court on April 19, 2024. Two were further found guilty of criminal damage.

During sentencing on Thursday, Judge Briony Clarke said the disruption was “planned well in advance” and the defendants had brought bike locks, bought tickets for the show and wore T-shirts bearing the name of their cause before climbing on to the stage.

It was a “deliberate act” in which “a great number of people were inconvenienced”, the judge said.

The five were given 12-month community orders with 10-15-days rehabilitation activity requirements of between 80 and 130 hours of unpaid work and were ordered to pay £279 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

The five were Hannah Taylor, 23, of Longcroft Road, Dronfield Woodhouse, Lydia Gribbin, 28, of Sydenham Lane, Cotham, Bristol, Hanan Ameur, 22, of Hornsey Road, Islington, Noah Crane, 18, of Aylsham Road, Buxton and Poppy Bliss, 19, of School Lane, Thurston.

Detective Superintendent Sian Thomas, investigating, said: “The people in the audience on that evening had spent their hard-earned money and were entitled to enjoy an evening out before the disruptive actions of these people ruined it.

“We have been clear time and again that while we will always respect peaceful protest, when there is clear criminality – as is the case here – then we will make arrests and seek to prosecute those responsible.”

Pictured top: The Sondheim Theatre (Picture: Google Street View)