LOGAN – We Are Pussy Riot (or Everything is PR) is not so much a dramatic play as it is a theatrical experience.
The vaguely unsettling production by the Theatre Arts Department at Utah State University is often intense, occasionally funny and mostly a sad indictment of the post-Cold War promise of freedom embodied in the Russian Constitution of 1993 that slipped quietly away in the age of Putin.
The real-life history behind playwright Barbara Hammond’s disturbing script is well-known.
In February of 2012, five young activists disrupted church services in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow, protesting the allegedly illegal presidential reelection of Vladimir Putin, a former KGB official.
They offered a 45-second punk prayer, then uploaded a video of their protest to YouTube, making themselves instant enemies of the church and state.
Despite wearing masks, three of the protestors were identified and arrested. What followed for them was a very Russian-style show trial that reeked of its ironic similarity to Franz Kafka’s fictional novel The Trial, because “the door of justice was definitely closed” for the punk rock defendants.
Under the direction of Amanda Dawson, We Are Pussy Riot is more than just a recreation of that trial. It’s also a slice of cynical international reaction because the impact of that trial also played out on the world stage, thanks to the Internet and video segments published on YouTube.
To some degree, the actors of We Are Pussy Riot attempt to immerse the audience in the same climate of fear and paranoia the young women endured and they succeed largely due to really strong performances.
Ethan Shaw does a dead-on imitation of Putin, largely played for laughs, but with an undertone of murderous madness.
Actresses Brooklyn Bullard, Brynn Francis and Ariana Whatcott deliver equally strong performances as advocates for feminism, diversity and LBGT rights as well as staunch opponents of the unholy alliance between Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church.
USU veteran perfomer Ollie Chieppa is on hand, appearing in multiple roles. Remarkably, she even breathes a little humanity into the part of a Russian prison guard.
Timo Rasmussen also gives a wonderfully sympathetic portrayal of a teacher who, despite the right of peaceful assembly granted by the Russian constitution, never quite realizes that he’s about to be added to his motherland’s historic death toll.
Other performers appearing in numerous roles include Megan Bedell, Megan Christiansen, Mason Garcia, Berkli Smith, Willoughby Staley and Elizabeth Thornton.
Evening performances of We Are Pussy Riot will continue to be presented on Sept. 27, 28, 29 and 30 at 7:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre of the Chase Fine Arts Center on the USU campus.
A matinee will also be presented at 1 p.m. on Sept. 30.