To say what you will encounter at Inside Pussy Riot would ruin the fun, if I can say fun, so this review will be a bit obtuse. But, go. This will be a night out you’ll remember.
If you don’t know much beyond the headlines about the Russian anarchist band Pussy Riot, that’s okay – the cast will fill you in, in many ways. The players of Inside Pussy Riot, currently on at London’s Saatchi Gallery, are a group of earnest and purposely scary females in their twenties and thirties, and the Associate Writer (working with Oliver Lansley of Les Enfants Terribles) is Nadya Tolokonnikova, a member of the actual Pussy Riot, who in 2012 was sentenced to two years in a labour camp for her part in “hooliganism”. This hour-long immersive experience brings that unpleasantry to life in an artful, imaginative way.
The performance, running through Christmas, coincides with Saatchi Gallery’s Art Riot exhibition, highlighting protest art in the 100 years since the Russian Revolution, but this isn’t like anything you’ve seen or more importantly, experienced. Again, I don’t want to ruin it.
Review: Inside Pussy Riot
images courtesy of Kenny Mathieson
Upon entering, you’ll be asked to state your beliefs, to test your strength in standing up for yourself and others, to imagine what constitutes being incarcerated and most importantly, to be a citizen of the world. Images of current political hot potatoes like Trump, Theresa May and, of course, Vlad the Incarcerator, are omnipresent.
The impact of Inside Pussy Riot took a while to sink in, as the theatrics are at first slightly offputting, and throughout range from subtle to Kabuki. Yet, a disconcerting feeling starts to grow, and the performance ends with a moving segment involving a message from Tolokonnikova, and an inspiration for you to get involved in changing the world. The sum of it gives you a lot to think about, and by the end of your hour, be ashamed if you’re not ashamed of how your tweets don’t equal real life action. I don’t remember feeling that way as I left Cats.
more Inside Pussy Riot info here
More PCB Theatre:
Gillian Fisher goes goth with Jamaica Inn
A night with Einstein and Monroe in Insignificance
A former ABC National, Dallas and Atlanta radio personality, Martina O'Boyle is now making movies and covering culture in London, Dublin, and as far in Europe as the cheapie flights will take her, for Pop Culture Beast.