A ‘queer dance artist’ who unfurled a Palestinian flag during a performance at the Royal Opera House has been ‘banished from working there again’.
Daniel Perry – who uses ‘they/them’ pronouns – staged the protest during a curtain call earlier this month and despite an off-stage figure attempting to yank the flag out of his hand, they continued to wave it while taking a bow.
The performer had been hired as a freelancer by the Royal Opera House which said the protest was unauthorised and undermined its position of political impartiality, according to The Telegraph.
The defiant Perry said they wanted to use the moment to make their performance ‘about something bigger than me’ but Oliver Mears, the director of opera at the iconic London venue told them they would never work for the venue again.
Footage from the closing night of Il trovatore showed Perry, in character, unfurling the flag and holding it before a suited official ran on from the wings and tried to grab it out of his hands.
The brief scuffle led Perry to knock in to some of the other performers who continued with their curtain call.
The protester managed to hold on to the flag after a quick exchange with the staff member before continuing to wave it as he stood on stage.
The rest of the cast seemed unaware and continued to hold hands and bow while the audience clapped and cheered.
A ‘queer dance artist’ who unfurled a Palestinian flag during a performance at the Royal Opera House has been ‘banished from working there again’
Daniel Perry – who uses ‘they/them’ pronouns – staged the protest during a curtain call earlier this month and despite an off-stage figure attempting to yank the flag out of his hand, they continued to wave it while taking a bow
Oliver Mears (pictured), the director of opera at the iconic London venue told Perry he would never work for the venue again.
According to the publication, the queer dancer said: ‘I chose to do my demonstration during my curtain call, a moment for myself. I chose to make it about something bigger than me.’
They added that opera audiences were the ones with the power and influence to enact change and wanted to see people standing up tot he suffering in Gaza in the Israel-Hamas war.
A spokesperson for the Royal Ballet and Opera said: ‘The display of the flag was an unauthorised action by the artist. It was not approved by the Royal Ballet and Opera and is a wholly inappropriate act.’
A social media post earlier this month seen by MailOnline showed them standing outside the musical Cabaret in London’s Charing Cross in a vest daubed with the slogan ‘Free Palestine’.
In the caption, they compared the events of the play – which charts the rise of the Nazi party in Germany through the lens of a Berlin cabaret club – to current events.
They previously performed as a dancer in an earlier run of the play alongside Eddie Redmayne and Jessie Buckley, as well as West End productions of Mary Poppins and Carousel, according to a biography.
Perry describes themselves as a Queer dance artist, choreographer/movement director and DJ and has been very vocal on social media for their support for Palestine
An online CV suggests they also worked on a number of cruise lines as a dancer, and appeared in a straight-to-DVD gangster film and a TV advert for crisps.
‘I decided to make this top and wear it as a reminder to myself, and to those around me, of the themes of the show and its relevance to our current times,’ they wrote.
‘I am so disappointed in an industry that I have worked in for over 10 years. Where is your support for those who need our help?’
They also called for a boycott of Coca-Cola, which has been a target of the so-called ‘boycott, divest, sanctions’ movement targeting businesses that continue to trade with Israel amid its war with Hamas in Gaza.
