Sadler’s Wells disrupted by oil protesters

The opening night (3 Dec) of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London was disrupted by campaigners from Fossil Free London demanding the company severed ties with Barclays because of concerns over its links to fossil fuel companies.

During the interval, protesters staged a demonstration in the foyer, pouring oil on campaigners dressed in Swan Lake costumes while others chanted, “Sadler’s Wells, drop Barclays”. They were escorted out of the building by security staff.

The disruption followed an earlier protest outside the theatre, in which campaigners in Swan Lake costumes staged a ‘die-in’ next to a banner that read, ‘Barclays Funds Bombs and Big Oil’. Leaflets explaining the protest were handed out to theatregoers.

Sadler’s Wells has a close relationship with Barclays – one of the theatre’s main sponsors – with its chair, Nigel Higgins, also serving as chairman of Barclays.

But since October 2023, the venue has faced mounting criticism, protests and questions over the ethics of its funding relationship with the bank amid claims the bank invests in fossil fuels and Israeli arms companies.

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.”