Balkan Erotic Epic at Power Plant: Marina Abramović unleashes Duisburg
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Balkan Erotic Epic: Marina Abramović brings Duisburg into a euphoric stage state
With the German premiere of Balkan Erotic Epic, the power plant in the Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park transforms on September 9, 2026, into a space full of ritual, physicality, and archaic images. Marina Abramović unfolds a four-hour performance here that merges Balkan myths, eroticism, death, and the life force into an immersive stage experience.
A performance between myth and present
The Ruhrtriennale announces the work as an extraordinary, direct, and intense engagement with ancient concepts of fertility, spirituality, and community. In 13 scenes, singing, dancing, projections, and visually powerful actions unfold into a theatrical atmosphere that is not viewed from a distance, but experienced physically. The audience moves freely through the space and becomes part of a living fabric of sound, light, and presence.
Stage art with ritual power
The stage design by Anna Schöttl opens the industrial space for a play of light and dark, closeness and distance, intimacy and overwhelm. According to Ruhrtriennale, the immersive setting meets strong projections, overlapping sounds, and moments of intensified movement. Costumes by Roksanda Ilinčić that reflect light and create disco ball-like effects add to this. Thus, a production emerges that pulls through the space like a ritual current.
Marina Abramović and the power of the body
Marina Abramović is considered one of the defining figures in performance art. Her own statement about the work refers to the spiritual rituals of her childhood and to the search for a new approach to the past. Exactly therein lies the dramatic tension of this performance: The archaic does not appear as folklore, but as concentrated presence. Eroticism is not merely provocatively displayed here, but negotiated as a vital force between life and death.
An evening for open senses
The performance lasts four hours, and the audience can leave and re-enter the space. Content-wise, the production displays explicit sexuality and nudity, and attendance is recommended from the age of 18. Anyone who engages with this stage experience does not encounter a conventional theater narrative, but a performative boundary experience with high sensory density. Its radiance lies precisely in the connection of radicality, precision, and a rare emotional force.
Conclusion: Balkan Erotic Epic promises an intense, visually powerful, and unusually physical theater event in Duisburg. Those who want to experience performance art at the highest level should not miss this German premiere.
Official channels of Marina Abramović:
- Instagram: no official profile found
- Facebook: no official profile found
- YouTube: no official profile found
- Website: https://www.marinaabramovic.com/
