One of the most highly-anticipated venues in Manchester, Factory International, renamed Aviva Studios, has officially opened its doors. Manchester’s landmark new cultural venue officially opens today (October 18) with the world premiere of Free Your Mind, a large-scale immersive performance based on The Matrix.
Bringing together a world-leading creative team and 50 professional dancers, this dramatic reimagining of the classic 1999 sci-fi film has been designed especially for Aviva Studios and takes place throughout the building’s ultra-flexible spaces. Directed by Danny Boyle, Free Your Mind brings together the visceral movement of choreographer Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy with a powerful score from renowned composer Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante (co-founders and artistic directors of the Olivier award-winning Boy Blue), set design by world-leading artist and designer Es Devlin and the work of the acclaimed writer Sabrina Mahfouz.
Designed by Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), Aviva Studios is a global destination for arts, music and culture located at the heart of the new St John’s neighbourhood in Manchester. The development is led by Manchester City Council, with backing of £99.05m from the government and £7m National Lottery funding from Arts Council England. It is supported by Aviva, who was announced as a principal partner to the venue earlier this year.
The design of the 13,350-square-metre building is based around large, open, flexible spaces that can be constantly reconfigured, enabling artists to create large-scale ambitious works of a kind not seen anywhere else in the world, and providing a canvas to make, explore and experiment. The 21-metre-high Warehouse is the ultimate flexible performance space with capacity for up to 5,000 people standing.
The Hall features a flexible stage and can house an audience of up to 1,603 seated or 2,000 standing. The Warehouse and the Hall can also work together, with the proscenium capable of opening fully into the Warehouse and allowing the stage to run deeper into the building.
Programmed and operated by Factory International, the organisation behind Manchester International Festival, Aviva Studios will host a year-round programme of original productions and special events across all artforms – from major exhibitions and concerts to intimate performances and immersive experiences.
2024 programme highlights, announced today, include original live performances by world-renowned artists. Visionary director Robert Wilson teams up with surreal folk duo CocoRosie to retell Kipling’s renowned novel Jungle Book (March 2024), their fourth theatre collaboration; Maxine Peake, Sarah Frankcom, and Imogen Knight join forces with Gazelle Twin and Daisy Johnson to present a feminist theatrical reimagining of John Bowen’s Robin Redbreast – first broadcast as part of the BBC’s Play for Today series in 1970 and widely regarded as a precursor to The Wicker Man (Robin/Red/Breast, May 2024). Award-winning dance artist and cultural innovator Ivan Michael Blackstock presents the Olivier award-winning TRAPLORD (Sept 2024), a dance performance meditating on life, death and rebirth; and a new music and multi-media theatrical experience by Laurie Anderson, ARK (Nov 2024) will explore how the world needs to change in order to be saved.
Other highlights include a visual feast for the senses by the award-winning Marshmallow Laser Feast (July to Aug 2024), a stage spectacle combining Chinese and South Asian dance, data and video from multi-disciplinary artist Keith Khan (May 2024) and an interactive symphony by Chinese composer Huang Ruo and BBC Philharmonic (June 2024).
Following Free Your Mind, Aviva Studios will host The Welcome (11-19 Nov 23), a nine-day programme of music, circus, art and fashion developed by Greater Manchester residents – an invitation from local people to celebrate the new cultural space, Johnny Marr presents two nights of music with an orchestra made up of northern musicians (7-8 Dec), and a stage adaptation of Oliver Jeffers’ award-winning book Lost and Found (13 Dec 23 – 6 Jan 24) from BAFTA award-winning director Will Brenton with music from Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals will close out the year.
Aviva Studios will also add to the city’s thriving music scene, presenting a rich selection of gigs, including in-house concerts and collaborations with local and national promotors. More details of these and other programme will be announced over the coming months.