Pussy Riot Theatre: Riot Days

Join Pussy Riot Theatre founder member Maria Alyokhina as she retells the story of the ‘Punk Prayer’, the collective’s protest in a Moscow cathedral that landed her nearly two years in prison.

With fevered monologues underpinned by real footage and frenetic noise-punk, Riot Days takes us back to 2012 as Alyokhina and Pussy Riot ascend the altar of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour for a guerilla performance protesting the Orthodox Church’s support for Putin during his election campaign. Alyokhina then takes us with her as she’s bundled into the back of an autozak – a Russian acronym meaning ‘automobile for the incarcerated’ – recounting strip searches and solitary confinement during her stint in a Siberian penal colony. It’s disturbing but defiant, courageous and energising – a testament to the power of resistance and activism.

It’s all based on Alyokhina’s new book, also called Riot Days, that revisits the events leading up to her incarceration. Together with a host of collaborators, she’s transformed the book into this unique piece of performance art for fractious times – exploring resistance and protest around the world.