Since 2011, an increasing amount of global attention has been paid to political performance-art group Pussy Riot. During their viral 2012 action ‘Punk Prayer’, five members entered Moscow’s Cathedral Of Christ The Saviour, asking the Virgin Mary to ‘oust Putin’ and ‘become a feminist’, as a means of calling out the Russian Orthodox Church’s oppressive conservative values. This protest led to the imprisonment of three Pussy Riot members: Nadya Tolokonnikova, Kat Samutsevich and Maria ‘Masha’ Alyokhina. Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina served two years in Russian labour camps, sparking solidarity protests around the world.

Alyokhina documented the inhumane conditions she suffered during her time in penal colonies in both a book titled Riot Days and a stage show of the same name. That show has been performed around the world, including at the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe, and this year Alyokhina returns with a new version which will be followed up by her second book Political Girl due to be released this November.

Creative producer Alexander Cheparukhin has been working on the show since its inception and is the first to join our Zoom call. ‘I was visiting Masha in her prison colony (I was then a director of big Russian festivals) and I was shocked by what had happened,’ he says, recalling their first meeting. ‘I decided to help and convinced many famous people like Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel and Patti Smith to support them. I was collecting their videos and their statements and convinced them to do shows dedicated to Pussy Riot.’

From its inception, the amorphous group has insisted ‘anybody can be Pussy Riot’ by putting on a mask and staging a protest against injustice. In this vein, the current cast of Riot Days formed and rehearsed a new version of the show in Barcelona thanks to the Artists At Risk organisation, which gave the 15 participants free accommodation and studio access. The show is a multi-disciplinary performance utilising music, theatre, documentary film and spoken word. Musical components were refined by composer Alina Petrova and Canadian drummer Eric Breitenbach, and will be brought to life with the help of Taso Pletner (vocals, flute) and Olga Borisova (vocals). ‘Every beat reflects what is happening emotionally and politically,’ Breitenbach explains in a later correspondence. ‘The music gives the words weight. It is not just a backdrop. It carries tension, resistance and release.’

When the rest of the cast finally join the Zoom, they pop up in four separate boxes. I try to say hello but I’m drowned out by the group chatting to each other in Russian. Eventually I am able to ask a question. Cheparukhin mutes himself and Alyokhina stares intensely down the camera before beginning to speak. ‘We tell it through not only my story, but also through the stories of people fighting for another Russia; like Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who was poisoned by security services, imprisoned and tortured for three years, one year in solitary confinement, and finally killed last year,’ she says, taking a brief beat. ‘Our goal is to show our country has been changing during all these years, and the whole world is witnessing what is happening. Navalny wasn’t the only person poisoned; our member Peter Verzilov, for example, was also poisoned by a military agent.’ Verzilov took part in Pussy Riot’s 2018 World Cup Final protest in Moscow, running onto the field as Putin watched from the stands.

In addition to these political developments, the war in Ukraine and rise of the far right loom equally large in Riot Days 2.0. ‘After we were released from prison, we started to be attacked physically by the new Nazi groups, which were sponsored by the state,’ continues Alyokhina. ‘That’s something we didn’t have before. But it’s not only about Russia because the world looks different. We see ultra-right politicians having more votes around the world; Trump is just one example. All of this we are bringing to the stage.’

While performing this show continues to be a clear form of resistance, the protest doesn’t end when the curtain closes. ‘All our Russian members have criminal cases against them because of our anti-war activity,’ Alyokhina says. ‘It’s illegal now to criticise the war; even calling it “the war” is criminal, and you can receive up to eight years in prison. That’s what we all got. One of the songs we perform on stage, “Mama, Don’t Watch TV”, became a basis for this criminal case.’

This has led to the group’s families being repeatedly interrogated and makes their crossing of borders a constant anxiety. ‘My flat was stormed with cops and my mum was very scared. They were looking for things that might be physical evidence of our crime,’ says Borisova, who is currently based in the UK.

‘I can’t see my parents,’ adds Pletner. ‘It’s extremely difficult right now to get visas and if you want to travel to countries which don’t have visa requirements, you need to think twice.’

Alyokhina adds: ‘I never thought that I would witness my father’s funeral online without the possibility of even taking the flight and saying goodbye. It’s beyond all words.’

For its cast, telling their story is simultaneously a prison sentence and a vital lifeline. ‘When we all left Russia to go on our first anti-war tour, we had nothing but this show. It’s what we needed to stay sane,’ says Borisova.

‘We have a story to tell and that’s all we have,’ Pletner concludes. ‘We can show what has happened in our country and hopefully this will inspire you to do something in yours.’

Pussy Riot: Riot Days, Summerhall, 12–23 August, 9.30pm.