Everyone’s favorite feminist punk rock protest band is crowdfunding “a breakthrough immersive theater production.”
Pussy Riot is tantalizingly close to having enough money to bankroll its own theater project, Inside Pussy Riot. The feminist punk rock band/anti-Putin protestors/human rights activists started a Kickstarter campaign on July 25 in the hopes of putting together an immersive theatrical experience with London’s Les Enfants Terribles. The group set out to raise $77,912 by midday August 18.
As Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, also known as Nadya Tolokno, explains on Kickstarter:
"This wild 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 labor colony, solitary confinement cells, priests who shout about banning abortions, and many more absurd but real-life things that exist in Russia today."
With a little more than a week left until the deadline, Pussy Riot has raised about $71.5K—about $6,000 from its fundraising goal. It seems likely that they will reach their goal, which is a relief since Inside Pussy Riot sounds like a unique, important project. We hear about Russia in the news all the time—but that doesn’t necessarily mean we understand what goes on in the day-to-day lives of its citizens and those that openly oppose its government.
For many of us (myself included), Pussy Riot can sometimes feel like more of a symbol than an actual group of people. So the chance for feminists, fans, activists, and anyone who is interested to spend a few hours experiencing what the band members went through could go a long way in raising awareness and inspiring people to fight back against oppression (or to keep fighting).
“We’ll take you on a journey from the cathedral altar deep into the vaults of the Kremlin itself,” Tolokonnikova promises on Kickstarter. “Hopefully, this is a journey that you’ll only have to make once in your life.”
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If the Kickstarter goal is indeed met by 1:00pm EST on Friday, August 18, Inside Pussy Riot is scheduled to open in November in London. Those who contribute to the campaign can receive rewards like sticker sets, T-shirts, art prints, coloring books, and more. Go to the project’s Kickstarter page for more information.