Leveraging street protest theatre traditions, the Toronto Red Rebels show up to climate justice and protest rallies wearing blood red, other worldly, flowy head dresses and gowns. They move in peaceful procession, slowly, with intention, performing rehearsed thought-provoking and emotionally arousing choreographed movements. With their faces painted mime white, Toronto’s Red Rebels protestors don’t say a word. Yet their skillful, silent performance send a clear, raging message to governments and corporations: Stop killing the planet –and us.
The Toronto Chapter got its spark when former union, feminist activist Jane Adams learned about the idea and soon after, pulled together a group of friends to watch Red Rebel Brigade’s first protest performance during the April 2019 Extinction Rebellion Spring Uprising on YouTube. The then nascent, UK based protest concept was created by Doug Francisco, a well-known British multidisciplinary artist and theatre director, and Justine Square, an acrobatic circus artist and seamstress.
Since their debut, Red Rebel chapters have sprung up in different countries and cities across the globe. The movement aims to grow and encourages new chapters to form freely.
So far, the Toronto Red Rebels are the only chapter operating in Canada. Their next performance is planned for Saturday, April 26 at Allan Gardens (Toronto) in celebration of Earth Day 2025. They have participated in dozens of events.
“At the moment there are about 19 of us,” said Adams. “Our first event was a “End Fossil Fuels” rally at Toronto’s Queens Park in 2023. We managed to create quite a stir. People took a lot of pictures and asked a lot of questions.”
All the Red Rebel costumes are homemade. You can’t buy them.
Adams explained “We had a couple of ‘retreats’ at a cottage. We brought sewing machines, gin, and tonic, and together, whipped up the costumes according to the UK Red Brigade’s how to video guidelines.”
Since its inception, the Toronto Red Rebels have performed at a dozen climate actions including two Grassy Narrows demonstrations, and Royal Bank AGM protests. RBC is the top among Canadian banks with over $28 billion in fossil fuel funding in 2023. They are the seventh biggest funder in the world
The group has reached out to other values and purpose aligned climate groups to let them know they are ready to participate in future actions.
The Red Rebels are not the only new climate activist group to form in Canada in the last few years. Last Generation, a controversial direct-action focused group founded in Germany in 2021, now operates in several countries including Canada. The new Canadian chapter (formerly On2Ottawa) is recruiting and offering activist training programs along with free food at events across Canada. The group engages in high profile acts of nonviolent civil disobedience like traffic disruption, spray painting Tesla dealerships and art vandalism to pressure Canadian governments at all levels to act.
Organizers say time is running out, leaders are not listening, and increasingly radical, disruptive tactics are now required. The Climate Action Network Canada reports it has grown from 140 to 180 member groups in the last three years.
Adams says the Red Rebels agree all Canadians must become more politically engaged–fast.
“I believe that it is ONLY by massive public demonstrations in the streets that we have any hope of turning the climate catastrophe around. And now, in Canada, that seems terribly difficult to imagine or provoke. When it comes to climate action, we will also need all kinds of gateways for the broader public to engage,” Adams said.
Unlike some climate groups, the Red Rebels see themselves as a tactic.
“We are not a strategy or a campaign. We aim to support, communicate, energize, and add colour and texture to OTHER group’s protests and campaigns,” said Adams.
Adams also emphasized the power of using their bodies as a collective form of protest because it conveys mortality, vulnerability, and the power of solidarity in the face of climate despair. The costumes and face pain allow for anonymity, which is important to some people who, due to their job or family pressure, would not otherwise engage in a protest.
In April 2024, over 400 Red Rebels in the UK took part in a mass “funeral” for nature procession.
Adams and the Toronto collective are keen to see Red Rebel groups grow across Canada. But their vision for growth looks more like a mycelial connected coast to coast field of mushrooms versus the creation of a patriarchal, tower of power institution.
“Red Rebel groups may work best in numbers of 12 to 20 per chapter. After that it is more difficult to coordinate and connect members to each other. Also, we need to keep each other secure in situations that could become unpredictable,” said Adams.
Call to action:
- For support in forming a Red Rebels group in your community, contact [email protected] AND https://redrebelbrigade.com/
- More information about the Saturday, April 26th event at Allan Gardens can be found here.
- Follow Red Rebels Toronto on Instagram: www.instagram.com/redrebelstoronto
- How to form a Red Rebels group in your community: https://redrebelbrigade.com/
Download the “Tactics for Collective Climate Action” here.
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