Footage shows a climate change protest during a theatre performance of Les Miserables, which the activists have now gone on trial for.

The five members of JustStop Oil appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on April 18 to face charges over the allegedly disrupted stage performance in London's West End on October 4 last year.

Hanan Ameur, 23, Poppy Bliss, 19, Noah Crane, 18, Lydia Gribbin, 28, and Hannah Taylor, 23, deny charges of aggravated trespass.

Gribbin and Crane also deny causing criminal damage to the theatre's orchestra pit netting, designed to protect the musicians from objects falling off the stage.

Appearing before District Judge Clarke, the activists recounted their actions during the performance of 'Do You Hear The People Sing?', a pivotal moment in the musical.

Carrying orange banners emblazoned with slogans such as 'Just Stop Oil' and 'TheShow Can't Go On', they seized the spotlight standing alongside actors bearing revolutionary red flags.

Prosecutor Jason Seetal told the court: 'Just prior to the interval, (the protesters) have risen from their seats and moved to the stage area.

'Gribbin and Crane climbed on netting covering the orchestra pit ... it suffered structural damage.'

'The production was stopped ... it was occupied for around an hour.'

The trial continues.