Parents have been left furious after pro-Palestinian protesters interrupted a children’s science show at a theatre in Wimbledon.
The New Wimbledon Theatre descended into chaos earlier this afternoon when a group of ‘Parents for Palestine‘ protesters stormed the venue and began chanting in front of an audience of terrified youngsters.
Children soon began ‘crying their eyes out’ while some were parents forced to cover their ears as the protest went on.
The activists were eventually escorted out of the venue by theatre staff, leaving the audiences filled with children as young as seven and their parents, in shock.
One parent who attended the show, named Rose, told MailOnline how her seven-year-old daughter, who is autistic, was left ‘really upset’ by the incident and accused the protesters of going to far.
Pro-palestinian protesters storm a children’s science show at a theatre in Wimbledon on Tuesday
A group of ‘Parents for Palestine’ protesters stormed the venue and began chanting in front of an audience of terrified youngsters
The show was taking place at the New Wimbledon Theatre (pictured) where children as young as seven had gathered to watch the science show
Rose said: ‘We’re sitting there getting ready for the show and then there’s this lady with a mask over her face and then she starts chanting.
‘And then after that I see bug banner drops from the top of the theatre and then from that everything is just disrupted.
‘There are parents with their children next to me and their kids are crying their eyes out cause it’s quite scary.
‘Security has come along and ushered some people out but then some other people who have got up on the stage to make sure their voices are getting heard.
‘You can do peaceful protest but this isn’t the way. Why would you do this at a kids show? The children do not need to know this, this is not an appropriate time.
‘It was about 4:25pm – the show was supposed to start at 4:30pm – and that’s when they jump out of their seats and start chanting their nonsense.
‘We had to wait half an hour for the show to begin. The show did go ahead and it was quite a good show.’
Rose claimed that one parent sitting next to her later called the police and there was subsequently a ‘large police presence’ outside.
A woman, carrying a baby appears on stage during a protest at the New Wimbledon Theatre
Children in the crowd began ‘crying their eyes out’ while some were parents forced to cover their ears as the protest went on
She continued: ‘I’m not against protesting I am really not but it is about how you are going to go these things. If you are going to protest you have to protest peacefully, not like this.
‘It is really sad and really shocking and it makes me not want to go to any theatre shows. This isn’t ok, children are crying their eyes out.
‘They have definitely crossed a boundary, you don’t do that, not at a children’s show.
‘Two wrongs don’t make a right. What’s happening in Palestine is very sad yes but then you don’t come to a children’s show and do that.
‘You have come to upset children and for what? You’re not going to change anything because the children don’t understand.’
‘[The children] are fine now because the show did go ahead despite what they tried to disrupt. The show did go ahead and it was quite a good show.
‘But I did have to apologise. I said to my daughter “sorry mummy was shouting”. But I didn’t want my child to hear what was being said because she doesn’t need to hear, she’s seven she doesn’t understand.
‘Most of the parents were trying to shield their [children’s] ears and comfort them as a lot of them were crying.
‘There were babies there, children probably from the ages of four up to ten years old’
‘I felt like a sitting duck not knowing what was going to happen next.
‘I just had a bit of anxiety.
‘I thought: do I just go home and leave now? I didn’t know what to do.
‘Later tonight my daughter will be asking why those people were shouting and it will really upset her.’
MailOnline has contacted the Metropolitan Police, New Wimbledon Theatre and Parents For Palestine for comment.
