Now National Theatre is giving Shell the elbow

The National Theatre has severed ties with Shell amid growing opposition to links with fossil fuel firms.

It comes hard on the heels of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s decision to end its partnership with oil giant BP following pressure from climate activists.

In a statement yesterday, the National Theatre announced it will end Shell’s membership from next year.

It is understood the oil firm was one of 19 companies holding a corporate gold membership, meaning it contributed at least £15,000 a year to the London theatre in membership fees.

The theatre said yesterday: ‘Shell have been valued and long-standing supporters of the National Theatre, most recently as corporate members – this membership will come to an end in June 2020.’

The arts centre said it was conscious of its impact on the environment and was trying to improve its carbon footprint.

‘Theatre, like all industries, has an impact: We create work that is inherently temporary; that makes use of raw materials, of heat, light and sound; that asks people to travel to a particular location at

‘We want to inspire change’

particular time,’ it said in a statement.

But it added: ‘We believe theatre can be part of the solution... Our industry is made up of creative and inspiring people who are motivated to make change.

‘The scale of the change required means we are already scrutinising every part of the way we operate.’

A Shell spokesman said: ‘For years we have provided support to many of our neighbours near our office on London’s Southbank, which has been our home for more than 50 years. We have all worked together and invested to make this a great place to live, work and visit. The National Theatre is one such neighbour.’

he added that the company agrees that ‘urgent action’ is needed to tackle climate change, adding: ‘What will really accelerate change is effective policy, investment in technology innovation and deployment and changing customer behaviour.’

The RSC announced its split from BP earlier this week, meaning the oil firm’s sponsorship of a subsidised ticket scheme for 16 to 25-year-olds was pulled.

It followed pressure from student protesters and its ex-associate artist Sir Mark Rylance, who quit the company in June in protest at its oil industry ties.