Russian punk trio Pussy Riot have today announced a special collaboration with Les Enfants Terrible Theatre Company, that will culminate in a run of London performances in the Autumn of 2017. Fans can even donate to the progress of the project via their Kickstarter page.
Les Enfants Terribles themselves are an award-winning theatre company, known for their innovative productions, including the vivid Alice’s Adventures Underground, a fascinating take of Lewis Carroll’s classic tales. When collaborating with Pussy Riot, the aim will be to take the audience on the band’s now-infamous journey of arrest and imprisonment in modern Russia’s corrupt judicial system.
The rewards for pledging to the project’s Kickstarter page include ‘Kremlin Stooge’, ‘Down With The Patriarchy’, ‘Riot 101′, ‘Kill The Sexist!’, ‘Straight Outta Vagina’, and ‘Punk Prayer’. The current financial goal for Inside Pussy Riot is £60,000, to be achieved by August 18. You can donate to the project here.
Pussy Riot member Nadiya Tolokonnikova has written of her passion for the project, addressing fans directly and writing “I’m asking for your support in an exciting new project. Pussy Riot, together with Les Enfants Terribles, is working on a break-through immersive theatre project. This wild, immersive theatrical experience will allow the audience to become a participant, experiencing exactly what Pussy Riot went through during our imprisonment – from the original Church performance, to the court trial and prison cells.
“We’re going to recreate Russian courtrooms, a real Russian labour colony, solitary confinement cells, priests who shout about banning abortions and many more absurd, but real-life things that exist in Russia today. The audience will actually get the chance to re-live each one of these experiences themselves in London, learning what it means to be a political opponent in Russia today. We’ll take you on a journey from the cathedral altar deep into the vaults of the Kremlin itself. Hopefully, this is a journey that you’ll only have to make once in your life.”
“We’re hoping that this production will be funded by regular people from around the world who are excited about the idea of political immersive theatre and we need your help! In order to ensure its launch we need to pre-fund this high-tech production – and fast. All the money raised will be spent on the gallery space, the set design, employing actors and staff for the show’s 6 week run and making those rooms in London look exactly like solitary confinement cells in the Russian prison I did my time in.”
