Pussy Riot head to Edinburgh by car after Putin flight ban

Masha Alyokhina has found a way to escape her homeland for her Pussy Riot show in Edinburgh - she’s driven out of the country after being denied a flight

Article by Jamie Dunn | 10 Aug 2018

One of the most anticipated events at this years Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the imminent arrival of Russian activists, artists and performers Pussy Riot. For a minute there, it seemed like it might not be happening though. One of the group's members, Masha “Maria” Alyokhina, who gained international fame in 2012 when she was arrested alongside two other members of the group after their “punk prayer” performance – a protest against President Putin and his brutal regime – at Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral, was planning to fly to Edinburgh for Pussy Riot’s Fringe shows but was banned from leaving the country.

Despite the official ban, Alyokhina has found a way to escape, in a journey that’s starting to sound like that movie with Steve Martin and John Candy. In a statement, the Pussy Riot team said: “In defiance of yesterday’s Russian authorities ban on her travelling, Pussy Riot founder Maria refused to be captive and silenced and instead has driven over 1000km from Moscow through borders of Belarus and Lithuania through the night and boarded a flight. She was absolutely determined to perform the show at Summerhall and will be there in person to join her band mates to share her story”

We’re told by Summerhall that she’s flying to the Scottish capital “right now!” and is due to arrive in plenty of time for tonight’s opening of Riot Days, Pussy Riot’s performance gig theatre, based on Alyokhina’s book of the same name.

Pussy Riot will be in residency at Summerhall with Riot Days until 19 August, and then take the show on the road to Liverpool, Newcastle, Exeter and Cardiff – full dates below:

10-19 Aug - Summerhall, Edinburgh – tickets here
20 Aug - The Riverside, Newcastle
21 Aug - Leeds University Stylus, Leeds
22 Aug - Arts Club, Liverpool
23 Aug - Tramshed, Cardiff
24 Aug - Exeter Phoenix, Exeter

Read our interview with Pussy Riot: Pussy Riot on Patriotism and Propaganda

https://festival18.summerhall.co.uk/event/pussy-riot-riot-days