Nadezhda “Nadya” Tolokonnikova and Maria “Masha” Alyokhina, the former Pussy Riot activists who were ousted from the group after an appearance at Brooklyn’s Barclay’s Center, are slated to appear in conversation twice at the famed Glastonbury music festival, held in England, June 24–29. On festival materials, they are listed as Pussy Riot.
The pair will appear on June 26 on the Park Stage, and June 27 at Left Field. The first slot is for 40 minutes, while the second will allow them a full hour.
Despite the fact that the feminist, anti-Putin group released a statement earlier this year that read “we lost two friends, two ideological fellow members, but the world has acquired two brave, interesting, controversial human rights defenders. We appreciate their choice and sincerely wish them well in their new career,” the pair is still operating under the Pussy Riot name, and are billed as “Nadya and Masha from Pussy Riot” at the festival. The remaining members are largely anonymous.
Pussy Riot.
Photo: courtesy MoMA PS1.
The group objected to Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina appearing at the Amnesty International event at the Barclay’s Center, writing in an anonymous statement, “we’re a female separatist collective. We never accept money for our performances.”
Months before their Barclay’s Center appearance, the duo appeared at MoMA PS1, where they gave a lengthy talk on art and activism (see Pussy Riot on Art, Activism, and Their Name’s Hilarious Russian Translation).
“We can promote our ideas without giving any performances. And we will never play any shows for money,” Alyokhina said in 2013.
Glastonbury music festival 2014.
Photo: Leon Neal/AFP.
Headliners at the festival include Foo Fighters, Kanye West, Florence & the Machine, Patti Smith, and the Who.
Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina also made an unexpected appearance in Season 3 of the Netflix political thriller “House of Cards” (See Pussy Riot’s Cameo in the New Season of House of Cards).
In the lead up to the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were released from a Russian prison in December 2013 after serving 21 months, following their protest at a Moscow cathedral (see Pussy Riot Sues Russia).