Three of the leading members of controversial Russian punk protest band Pussy Riot will perform together in Australia for the first time as the headline act of the Adelaide Fringe Festival next year.

Key points: The Adelaide Fringe Festival begins February 15 next year

The Adelaide Fringe Festival begins February 15 next year Pussy Riot have been announced as the Royal Croquet Club's headline act

Pussy Riot have been announced as the Royal Croquet Club's headline act The group has made headlines for its controversial protests around the world

The trio — who took part in the controversial Moscow cathedral protest in 2012 — will perform exclusively at the Royal Croquet Club, in what has been described as a "global first".

Masha (Maria) Alyokhina, the leading member of the group, will be joined by two other prominent members in Adelaide at the festival beginning in February.

The group has been known to attract headlines and most recently made a large-scale protest at the 2018 World Cup Final between France and Croatia when four members ran onto the pitch during the second half.

The group claimed it was protesting about human rights in Russia.

As well as their stage performance, the group will perform its art piece Riot Days at the Royal Croquet Club's The Attic venue from February 27 to March 3.

"The Riot Days show has been around the world a couple of times but never with the three key members of the group in before," Royal Croquet Club artistic director David Sefton said.

"The lead girl who's put the whole thing together has been the principal member of the collective and been involved in the show.

"But now we've got the three members who are the most recognisable from the most famous actions in Russia — so it's a big deal because it's a global first."

Russian feminist punk group Pussy Riot during a past performance. ( Supplied: Dark Mofo )

Icons of political resistance

Mr Sefton said while the group were "profoundly disliked" in their home country, he expected the performance to be appreciated in Australia.

He said a lot of the festival next year would centre around politics and resistance.

"I think we're far enough away to be of any interest to Russia … the World Cup intervention was the last thing that got them global attention," he said.

"They are profoundly disliked by the administration of their home country but they're out there.

"The show is great and their live performance is extraordinary and they're something of a 21st-Century icon of political resistance.

A pitch invader approaches France's Kylian Mbappe during the 2018 World Cup Final. ( Reuters: Darren Staples )

"Pussy Riot are obviously a fairly significant cab off the rank but a lot of the program is kind of taking the same line about resistance and politics and it being very much a lot of what's out in the world at the moment," he said.

Mr Sefton said conversations had been complicated in getting the trio to commit to a performance at the festival.

"When we started this conversation, the management were in a German hospital with the member of the collective who had actually been poisoned in Russia.

"They had to airlift him out of Moscow so there's never anything straightforward with these things.

"It's incredibly topical. It gets more topical by the day and it's a great piece of theatre and performance.

"But [it] also tells the story of what happened with this artist collective who put it out there that they've risked their own lives to do their art.

"They're going to do a big live gig, their first music show in Australia so there's going to be a full band for that one plus special guests.

"That'll be a biggie as well because that's kind of a major statement, outdoor, mainstage event for them which they have not done in this country before."

The full 2019 Adelaide Fringe Festival program will be released to the public this Thursday.