Review: PUSSY RIOT: RIOT DAYS – ADELAIDE FRINGE 2019 at The Attic, University Of Adelaide, RCC

Reviewed by Corinna Di Niro, Friday 1st March 2019.

Pussy Riot gained global notoriety when video footage of them staging an anti-religious guerrilla protest performance in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on the 21st February 2012, went viral around the world. The YouTube video brought their protest and plight into the world's view, resulting in three of the group being arrested, and two key members being sent to prison camps for two years on counts of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred".

The Adelaide shows feature four original Pussy Riot members and 2 musicians. Pussy Riot: Riot Days kicked off with a blasting sound-wall of live percussion, electronica, saxophone, rap-style vocals, protest footage and projected slogans, recounting in both verse and spoken word, the activists' protest, trial, and imprisonment.

While some punters were keen to "mosh" to the rebellious music and rap diatribe, others stood still to read the captivating English surtitles. It made for a somewhat subdued response, which could have otherwise raised the roof with their punchy lyrics and political statements.

The single male vocalist and dancer emptied a salvo of water bottles at the front few rows, in an effort to spur the crowd into action; but it failed to ignite the audience as hoped. All in all, the show was a well thought out and visualised performance that received much applause, but ultimately fell short of causing a riot in this particular setting.

A long way from Moscow, we could only imagine how different the response would be for Pussy Riot playing in an underground bar in Moscow as compared to the middle-class Adelaide crowd packing the sold-out Attic at the RCC.

Pussy Riot plays their final show in Adelaide on the Maths Lawns, with headline act Yothu Yindi, on March 7. You can expect that one to be the best yet from this iconic group on their Australian tour debut.