WATCH: Crowd Boos Protesters Interrupting ‘Julius Caesar,’ Cheers at Their Removal

“The Show Resumed with the Lines ‘Liberty! Freedom!’”

The Public Theater’s production of Julius Caesar in New York was interrupted last night by two protestors, resulting in one arrest on charges of trespassing and disorderly conduct.

The production, which features a depiction of Donald Trump in the titular role, advises  that it “in no way advocates violence towards anyone.” Instead, it notes, the play “makes the opposite point, [that] those who attempt to defend democracy by undemocratic means pay a terrible price and destroy the very thing they are fighting to save.”

Conservatives and right-wingers have attacked this latest production of William Shakespeare’s 418-year-old play, which features the stabbing of Julius Caesar, with many choosing to politicize it following the tragic shooting of House Majority Whip Steve Scalise. A previous production of the play featured a depiction of President Barack Obama as Julius Caesar.

Despite this, one protester took to the stage last night to decry “the normalization of political violence against the right,” while the audience booed her. Jack Posobiec, who helped spread the Pizzagate conspiracy theory, filmed the interruption. Watch:

“Two protesters disrupted our show tonight; we stopped the show for less than a minute and our stage manager handled it beautifully,” Oskar Eustis, the artistic director for the Public Theater said in a statement. “The staff removed the protesters peacefully, and the show resumed with the line ‘Liberty! Freedom!’”

“The audience rose to their feet to thank the actors, and we joyfully continued,” Eustis said. “Free speech for all, but let’s not stop the show.”

To comment on this article and other NCRM content, visit our Facebook page.