Pussy Riot members to perform at Royal Croquet Club as part of 2019 Adelaide Fringe

Three members of Russian activist punk group Pussy Riot who took part in its controversial 2012 Moscow cathedral protest will reunite on stage for the first time at next year’s Adelaide Fringe.

Pussy Riot will perform at next year’s Adelaide Fringe. Picture: Rick Kern/WireImage

Three members of Russian activist punk group Pussy Riot who took part in its controversial 2012 Moscow cathedral protest will reunite on stage for the first time to perform exclusively at the Royal Croquet Club as part of next year’s Adelaide Fringe.

Pussy Riot will play its first and only Australian concert on the Maths Lawn at Adelaide Uni, which will be the new site of the RCC, with special guests on March 7.

The feminist group will also perform its performance art piece Riot Days at The Attic venue, above the UniBar, from February 27 to March 3.

Maria Alyokhina of Pussy Riot in Edinburgh last August. Picture: Roberto Ricciuti/Redferns

Maria “Masha” Alyokhina was one of three Pussy Riot members arrested and given two-year jail sentences for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred” after a performance inside Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior.

Riot Days, a mix of music, documentary footage and political commentary, is based on Alyokhina’s memoir of the same title.

“Riot Days has toured the world to huge acclaim and packed houses but now the three essential members of Pussy Riot will appear in their own story on stage for the first time,’’ Alyokhina said from Moscow. “Adelaide has a piece of history coming - we will see you in February.”

Alyokhina will be joined in Adelaide by two singer-musicians known only as Sasha and Kot, who also took part in the cathedral performance but went into hiding after their fellow activists were arrested.

The incident sparked international protests and support from human rights groups including Amnesty International, which designated the women as “prisoners of conscience”.

Alyokhina and fellow Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikov served 21 months in prison before being released under an amnesty, while the third woman arrested, Yekaterina Samutsevich, had her sentence suspended after an appeal.

Members of Pussy Riot performing in Moscow.

The reunion is a major coup for former Adelaide Festival director David Sefton, who has put together the program for next year’s RCC, which also features shows by previous Festival acts the Tiger Lillies and Penny Arcade.

“The draw for me was to do something that sat between the Fringe and the Festival,’’ Mr Sefton said.

Tickets for Pussy Riot’s concert and Riot Days go on sale today for Bank SA customers and to the general public on Thursday with the release of the full Fringe program at adelaidefringe.com.au