Pussy Riot is bringing their protest to London, and the world will be watching
Though it’s been three years since three of their members were jailed by the Russian government, feminist punk rock collective, Pussy Riot, remains as relevant as ever. After all, tyranny never sleeps.
According to The Guardian, Pussy Riot and the Belarus Free Theatre are currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund Burning Doors, a new play (written by a member of Pussy Riot) that will be “powerful theatre in solidarity with those who refuse to be silenced.” Burning Doors focuses specifically on the trials and tribulations of Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina (who is also the playwright), imprisoned political artist Petr Pavlensky (who famously nailed his own testicles to the Red Square), and Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence in Siberia.
“I want to use this chance to show moments and situations that we have not spoken about, and which people don’t know about Pussy Riot – both while we were in prison, but also afterwards,” Alyokhina told The Guardian. “I want this to speak about the place of political artists and political art in the world, and about the difference between radical gestures and art. The message here is the same as in our music and in our political acts. We are fighting against our oppressive governments, just now we are using theatre.”
The play will be put on by the Belarus Free Theatre, a 29-actor troupe based in Minsk, that is required to rehearse in secret after the country’s government banned it. Through Kickstarter, the troupe hopes to raise nearly $30,000 to take their play to the United Kingdom, where they can perform throughout the country starting in October 2016. As with all things Pussy Riot, it’s highly-likely that a lot of eyes all over the world will be on them.
We are thrilled to see the women of Pussy Riot sharing their voices. To donate, head to the Burning Doors crowdfunding page and read more about the project over at The Guardian.
