Placebo
Placebo’s (British rock group) documentary of their gigs in Russia was produced as a documentary film in 2017, entitled, Placebo: Alt. Russia. The point of their documentary was to show that Placebo continued to return to Russia almost every year in the first two decades of the 21st c. because the concerts gave Russians a chance to express themselves. The band found that that outlet of free expression was needed more than in Europe.
Facing censorship constraints, docudrama and theatre for social change can still help people in Russia and the region find a creative outlet. The qualities of live performance and creative expression through sound make docudrama difficult to police. The linguistic structure of several quintessential dramas can be compared to the linguistic design of songs. Songs are social critiques every time they are sung. Songs foster solidarity with the audience and so do docudramas. Within the medium of sonic theatre of direct speech, a haven for verbal expression is emerging in the lingering oppression.
Док-Ток or Собчак.doc
Journalist, social icon, and politician, Ksenia Sobchak, has for years had her own Internet talk-show, «Осторожно Собчак!». From February 2020 – July 2021 she ran a t.v. show titled, “Док-Ток” which aired during the evenings of weekdays. Its title and the content have obvious parallels to Russia’s Teatr.doc.
Sobchak’s father, Anatoly Sobchak, was the Mayor of St Petersburg in the 1990s. While her father had close ties to Putin, Ksenia Sobchak ran against Putin in 2018. The Kennan Institute interviewed her in 2018 about her goals as a future Russian president and her opinions about the annexation of Ukraine and ongoing violence in Donbas.