Royal Shakespeare Company ends deal with BP following climate protests

The Royal Shakespeare Company is ending its ticket discount deal with BP following protests from climate activists. 

The company announced Wednesday that the deal, which allowed 16- to 25-year-olds to purchase tickets for shows for five pounds (or $6), will conclude at the end of this year. The discount has been in place since 2013 and had been applied to 80,000 tickets, according to the Royal Shakespeare Company’s press release.

{mosads}The company’s artistic director, Gregory Doran, and Executive Director Catherine Mallyon said the Royal Shakespeare Company has “listened to a wide and varied range of voices and opinions about our partnership with BP.”

“Amidst the climate emergency, which we recognise, young people are now saying clearly to us that the BP sponsorship is putting a barrier between them and their wish to engage with the RSC,” they said in the release. “We cannot ignore that message.”

BP responded in a statement that the company is “disappointed” and “dismayed,” saying the company is also committed to making the world more sustainable.

“Ironically, the increasing polarisation of debate, and attempts to exclude companies committed to making real progress, is exactly what is not needed,” the statement read. “This global challenge needs everyone – companies, governments and individuals – to work together to achieve a low carbon future.”

Climate protests have erupted globally in the last year, with a pair of them organized in Washington, D.C., to protest the U.S.’s use of fossil fuels as other protests took place worldwide.

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has also garnered attention for the movement by speaking against world leaders at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York.