MK Music: Pussy Riot

Russia is attacking Ukraine. Russian society is increasingly being forced into line and protests are violently suppressed. The Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and the Thomas Dehler Foundation, together with the Münchner Kammerspiele, are inviting Pussy Riot, the dissident punk collective from Moscow, to the Münchner Kammerspiele. Pussy Riot rose to worldwide fame for their “Punk Prayer” performance in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. This was followed by a court case that was heavily criticised on the international stage and resulted in three of the women involved, including Maria Alokhina, being sentenced to two years each in a labour camp. These experiences – life in a Russian camp and the fight against oppression – are addressed in this piece which is a cross between a concert, a rally and a theatre play. Electric sounds, chants and live music tell a story of resistance, oppression and revolution. Art meets political activism in a show that is as captivating as it is inspirational and that proves the existence of a different Russia.

The performance is followed by a discussion with Pussy Riot and others.