Russian Activist Collective Pussy Riot Leads the Lineup for Auckland Fringe Festival 2019

The full program for Auckland Fringe 2019 has landed with Russian activist collective Pussy Riot leading the bill. Made up of approximately 11 members, the group is best-known for its large-scale protests, including invading the pitch during the 2018 World Cup Final and their provocative guerrilla performance inside Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

In Auckland, the feminist protest punk rock group will make their New Zealand debut with Pussy Riot: Riot Days – a live accompaniment to core member Maria Alyokhina's memoir Riot Days that merges punk, electronica, theatre, documentary footage and protest. Performing in Auckland Town Hall's Great Hall on Friday, 22 February, Pussy Riot are part of Auckland Live's Fringe Town program – a collection of innovative and out-of-the-box arts experiences taking over the Auckland Town Hall.

Also on the Fringe Town lineup is Movement of the Human, a performance mixing dance, music and light that aims to reimagine the Grand Hall, plus Satellite's K-Pop Party featuring popular Korean dance crews. Auckland Live's full Fringe Town line up will be announced on Monday 14 January.

91 shows are set to take place in 52 venues from 19 February to 3 March, 2019. Highlights of the 2019 international lineup include Baltimore-based sound nerd duo Hamerkop who will premiere their latest work, and British theatre company Heady Conduct who will make their international debut with physical reinterpretations of Greek myths.

From New Zealand comes Billy T 2018 nominees Two Hearts with an interactive musical comedy and live karaoke; Ashton Brown returns with his comedy show Dying To Meet You; The Bub Club Film Archive is a series of arthouse films that were rejected from art galleries for being too funny; Deacon sees the What We Do In the Shadows character come back to life for an interpretive erotic dance; acapella group The Jubilation Choir will step up to the mic with a range of powerful tunes; and How To Write An Album will see The Undercuts attempt to write and record an album from scratch in 12 hours.

Auckland Fringe takes place from 19 February to 3 March, 2019. For more information, visit aucklandfringe.co.nz.