Marina Abramović: Balkan Erotic Epic review – a thrilling collision of ecstasy and grief

<p><strong>Aviva Studios, Manchester<br></strong>Resisting simple titillation, this sprawling four-hour odyssey through often naked rituals has weddings, funerals and eye-popping love potions</p><p>Factory International’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/18/aviva-studios-opens-in-manchester-with-danny-boyle-dance-extravaganza">Aviva Studios</a> was made for work like this. It’s a space designed for scale, flexibility and form-defying experimentation, all of which apply to performance artist Marina Abramović’s ambitious, uncompromising, sprawling new show, which takes over the whole of the venue’s vast warehouse space.</p><p>The four-hour performance gives audiences a journey through the folklore and rites of the Balkans, gathering traditions from across the region. There’s dancing, singing and a variety of surprising uses of the human body, from fertility ceremonies to wedding preparations. These rituals are enacted through live performance and projected film, organised across 13 scenes designed to be experienced by freely roaming audience members. Some are durational tableaux, repeating and accumulating, while others build to a climax and then reset. And wandering through it all is Maria Stamenković Herranz as Abramović’s strict, buttoned-up mother, looking on with disapproval but curiosity.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/oct/15/marina-abramovic-balkan-erotic-epic-review-aviva-studios-manchester">Continue reading...</a>