02.12.26
Pussy Riot
Riot Days
The GuardianFull of fierce, rousing joy, free of scripted cues […] Poetic, razor-sharp and disarmingly witty [...] Riot Days convinced me that gigs still have the power to move the masses.
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The performative concert RIOT DAYS is based on Maria Alyokhina’s critically acclaimed book of the same name. The show chronicles Alyokhina’s experiences with the group Pussy Riot, from their iconic protests to their court trials and prison sentences – a story of resistance, repression and revolution in a mixture of concert, rally, theatre and political happening. The content evolves, reflecting current events like political prosecutions and the Russian aggression against Ukraine. With over 400 performances globally, RIOT DAYS has garnered prestigious awards like the Herald Angel Award, Total Theatre Award of Edinburgh Festivals, the Woody Guthrie Prize in the USA, and more. Just recently four artists of RIOT DAYS received honorary degrees of the Doctor of Letters of the University of Kent, and celebrated this with an impromptu performance in the historical Canterbury Cathedral.
Biographies
Maria (Masha) Alyokhina
Maria (Masha) Alyokhina is a founding member of Pussy Riot. In 2012, she was sentenced to two years in a penal colony for the performance “Punk Prayer” in Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. During her imprisonment, she successfully challenged the prison administration over the treatment of inmates. She documented those experiences in her book Riot Days, followed by Political Girl. She also curated Velvet Terrorism, the first comprehensive survey of Pussy Riot’s work, which has travelled internationally from Reykjavik to museums across Europe and North America. In 2025, a Moscow court sentenced her to 13 years in absentia.
Alexander Cheparukhin
Alexander Cheparukhin is the founder of GreenWave Music. In 2012, following the imprisonment of Pussy Riot members, he mobilised artists including Paul McCartney, Peter Gabriel, Patti Smith, Sting, and hundreds of others in their support. He brought Maria Alyokhina the idea for the performance, found the director and publishers for her books, and helped develop Riot Days. He personally opens every performance.
Alina Petrova (Rov)
Alina Petrova is the musician behind the violin opening of Riot Days. She is the founder of the Kymatic ensemble and works across violin, viola, modular synthesizers, and live programming. She completed an MSc in Sonology at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. In 2025, a Moscow court sentenced her to eight years in absentia.
Taso Pletner
Taso Pletner trained at the Moscow Art Theatre School under Dmitry Brusnikin. His collaboration with Icelandic artist Ragnar Kjartansson opened Velvet Terrorism in Reykjavik and later travelled to Montreal, Vancouver, Munich, and beyond. In 2025, a Moscow court sentenced him to 11 years in absentia.
Eric Breitenbach
Eric Breitenbach is the drummer driving Riot Days, touring with the production since June 2025. He also provides the live score for Maria Alyokhina’s literary performances of Political Girl across Europe and the UK.
