review of Marina Abramović Balkan Erotic Epic Factory International Manchester 2025 by A D Padgett

review of Experience the raw, unfiltered power of Balkan folklore in a new immersive show from the world’s most famous performance artist

Balkan Erotic Epic is a bold new performance work created by the iconic artist Marina Abramović. Regarded as the world’s most influential performance artist, Abramović’s transformative work has reached millions of people – from opening the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival to taking up residence in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Now she creates one of her most ambitious shows ever here in Manchester.

A four-hour ritual where ancient myth meets performance art, Balkan Erotic Epic explores the eroticism, spirituality and traditions of Abramović’s homeland through 13 visceral scenes.

Brought to life by a cast of over 70 performers, dancers, musicians and singers, the experience unfolds across Aviva Studios. Audiences are free to choose their own path – with pop-up encounters punctuating the action, bringing bodies together in dance, song and ritual.

Watch Fertility Rite, a fevered ritual where bodies writhe against the ground in a desperate call for fertility. Witness Massaging the Breast where women gesticulate over graves to awaken the earth. In Scaring the Gods, women bare themselves to the sky to banish storms. Listen closely as Elke – narrator and guide – reveals more of the mythology.

Unafraid to push the boundaries of eroticism and performance art, Balkan Erotic Epic asks its audience a timeless question: What are our bodies truly for?

Unflinching, intimate and sacred, with Balkan Erotic Epic Abramović reclaims the body as a site of power, mystery and transformation.