XR Youth Cambridge protest Cambridge University’s partnership with Schlumberger

“Its impossible to see where the oil ends and the thinking begins!” shouted demonstrators grouped in front of Senate house on Sunday (16/10). Cambridge’s Extinction Rebellion Youth group appealed directly to tourists and shoppers with a protest performance entitled “Alice in Schlumberland.”

In a retelling of Lewis Carroll’s classic, characters were recasted to draw attention to the University’s partnership with Schlumberger – the world’s largest offshore drilling company.

The oily teapot is turned on Alice (Image credits: Felix Armstrong)

Within the demonstration Alice, a good-intentioned but naïve fresher, finds herself pulled into the fantasy world of the University’s power structure by Dr W. Rabbit, and introduced to Carroll-inspired characters including Prof M. Hatter, Duchess Schlumberger, Prof. Caterpillar, and of course the Schlumber Cat.

This fantasy cast of the University’s ruling figures then proceeds to defend their relationship with oil, all the while upturning the contents of their teacups and teapots over Alice and drenching her with petrol.

Alice in Schlumberland (Image credits: Felix Armstrong)

After the event, while its organisers handed out cake and mopped the pavement clean of fake oil, the actors expressed their frustration at what they see as the gulf between the company’s commitments and its actions.

“Alice” emphasised her annoyance towards the University’s actions. She said the movement aims at directing student attention towards Cambridge’s work with Schlumberger. She said: “They keep themselves very behind the scenes, so the more people that know who Schlumberger are the better.”

The demonstrator also underlined the student appetite for the work being done by the movement: “I think that a lot of the students, if they knew the extent to which the university was involved with Schlumberger, would be against it.

“You don’t have to agree with all of XR’s tactics, but the Schlumberger Out campaign is within the university, and I think it’s super important that the students show up to say what they would like from their university.”

The action was part of the Extinction Rebellion supported campaign Schlumberger Out. While described by organisers as bordering on “ridiculous”, the demonstration was aimed at affecting real change.

More widely, Extinction Rebellion demands net zero by 2025, as well as the creation of a representative Citizen’s Assembly, by which the Government’s actions would be determined.

XR’s Black Brigade marched through the city (Image credits: Felix Armstrong)

The demonstration’s upbeat atmosphere was undercut by Extinction Rebellion’s trademark Black Brigade. They introduced the action with a ghostly procession through the city’s Grand Arcade shopping centre, drawing attention to the existential nature of the issues expressed by the campaign and providing tourists with an unexpected photo opportunity.

When contacted for comment, Schlumberger’s press office responded with the following: “At Schlumberger we are committed to playing our part in addressing climate change by reducing our own greenhouse gas emissions, and supporting our customers reduce [sic] theirs, through targets aligned with climate science and by meeting the demand for energy sustainability.

“We invest in a range of initiatives to achieve this. Our transition technologies are deployed for customers to support their climate ambitions and we have made a public commitment to achieving Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

“In addition we created Schlumberger New Energy, developing solutions for the future that are carbon neutral which we intend to expand as part of Schlumberger’s strategic ambitions addressing climate change.

“The Schlumberger Cambridge Research centre is heavily involved in supporting the company’s commitment to Net Zero emissions, with many projects in new energy activities.”

The University of Cambridge was also contacted for comment.

Featured image credit: Felix Armstrong