Factory International today announced a world premiere by artist Marina Abramovic as part of its 2025 Season. The daring large-scale performance Balkan Erotic Epic which explores eroticism, spirituality and ritual will premiere at Aviva Studios in Autumn 2025.
Uncovering ancient beliefs and folktales, Balkan Erotic Epic will blend artforms – bringing together performance, dance and traditional Balkan throat singing to explore and enact the eroticism embedded in Balkan mythology.
Marina Abramovic said:
I was born in the Balkan. As a child, I have been exposed to many spiritual rituals in the house of my grandmother which left me with deep and lasting impressions that continue to shape the way I see the world today. I have long desired to look into ancient and pagan beliefs, folktales, and rites rooted in the mythologies of this region of Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, along with Gypsy and traveller cultures. In the past, for so many ancient cultures, procreation and life itself were based on numerous ceremonies aimed at creating an understanding of our existence. By rediscovering this forgotten past, I would like to create a new understanding and context for the public today.
The project was announced today as part of Factory International’s 2025 highlights alongside Hamlet Hail to the Thief, a new version of Hamlet which sees Shakespeare’s words illuminated by Radiohead’s seminal album Hail to the Thief re-worked by Thom Yorke and performed live by a cast of musicians and actors. It will have its world premiere at Manchester’s Aviva Studios (27 April – 18 May 2025) before transferring to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford. Also announced was the world premiere of Figures in Extinction (18-22 Feb 2025), the final instalment of Simon McBurney and Crystal Pite’s award-winning dance trilogy presented by Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT) and Complicité.
Programmed and operated by Factory International, the organisation who also deliver Manchester International Festival (MIF), Aviva Studios officially opened last October, creating a global destination for arts, music and culture in the heart of Manchester. The venue’s development was led by Manchester City Council, with backing of £99.05m from HM Government and £7m National Lottery funding from Arts Council England.
