Making BP history

I was honoured to be one of 200 people who took part in an anti-BP version of Macbeth, in yesterday's flashmob outside the BP-sponsored Shakespeare Exhibition at the British Museum:

Chorus: "Double, double, oil is trouble / tar sands burn as greenwash bubbles"

First BP Executive: "When shall BP meet again? / In oil spills, tar sands, toxic rain?"

Second BP Executive: "When the sponsorship is done / PR battle fought and won."

Here's a rather delightful little film of the action, featuring me with a beard I grew especially for the occasion...


This comes at the end of seven months of pop-up theatrical protests at BP-sponsored Shakespeare plays. The campaign seems to have been successful: the Royal Shakespeare Company last week stated that: “We have no further sponsorship [with BP] confirmed”. Next year’s programme of plays has been announced, and none are sponsored by BP.

Poem up a power station chimney

So while we were occupying the West Burton power station chimney, while the rest of the crew put their amazing climbing, filming, solar-panel-building, daredevil rope-dangling and media skills to work, I sat down and wrote a poem. Hmmm. Here's a video of me performing it under our windswept tarpaulins, 80 metres up a chimney, in front of my action companions - possibly the most captive audience I've ever had...




For more info on why we were up there and what happened next, see the No Dash For Gas website, Twitter feed or Facebook page...