Aviva Studios Archives - North West End UK

Marina Abramović: Balkan Erotic Epic – Aviva Studios

15Oct

By Mark DavorenNo Comments

North West

Marina Abramović: Balkan Erotic Epic – Aviva Studios

Artist and director Marina Abramović presents her most ambitious work yet with this stunning four-hour immersive experience that draws upon her Slavic roots and culture to explore the eroticism, spirituality and traditions of her homeland. A brass band leads us up into the hall where we witness a funeral lament for Josip Broz Tito, former Communist leader of Yugoslavia, before a further twelve visceral scenes are revealed around us, with audiences free to choose their own path. Photo: Marco Anell Magic Potions questions what is myth and what is history whilst Fucking the Ground/Fertility Rites and Scaring the Gods to Stop the Rain both explore ancient ritual performances designed to pre-empt crop failure. Ancestor’s Dance presents a typical winter scene where performers in trad...

A Single Man – Aviva Studios

Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 study of grief, A Single Man, is a recognition of the complexities of our inner thoughts at a time of crisis. When fashion designer Tom Ford adapted the book for his 2009 movie of the same name, he chose to round off some of lead character George’s rougher edges. Ford also concluded the story more decisively. In this contemporary ballet, Jonathan Watkins appears to have returned to the original source material, in terms of George's complicated nature. Watkins has, however, been both more definitive and more hopeful about George's future. With mixed results. A Single Man is at times heartbreakingly emotional and tearjerkingly beautiful. But it is also, on occasion, slightly impenetrable. That being said, this Factory International a...

Marina Abramović premieres most ambitious work of her career at Manchester’s Aviva Studios

•Balkan Erotic Epic (9th – 19th October 2025) marks Abramović’s largest-scale performance work to date, featuring a cast of over 70 performers. •Rooted in the artist’s Balkan heritage, this bold new work combines dance, song, and ritual to explore desire, spirituality, and our connection to nature. •Merging elements of performative tradition with sensuality and eroticism, Balkan Erotic Epic reflects Abramović’s ongoing exploration of the body, sexuality, and the limits of human experience. •Tickets go on-sale to Factory International members on Thursday 22nd May and to general public on Thursday 29th May at www.factoryinternational.org Factory International, the organisation behind Manchester International Festival and the city’s landmark cultural space Aviva Studios, wi...