Balkan Erotic Epic at the Ruhrtriennale: Marina Abramović unleashes Duisburg
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Marina Abramović ignites a intoxicating ritual of the senses in Duisburg
With Balkan Erotic Epic, the Ruhrtriennale 2026 brings a four-hour performance to Duisburg that merges myth, body, music, and ritual into an intense stage experience. In the Power Station at Landscape Park Duisburg-Nord, a theatre atmosphere is created that does not set distances but focuses on immediate presence, on movement in space, and on those rare moments in which stage and audience can almost hear each other breathe.
A work between myth, body, and collective memory
Marina Abramović develops an immersive performance that is based on Balkan myths, spiritual heritage, and archaic ideas of fertility, mortality, and life force. The production unfolds in 13 scenes where singing, dancing, ceremonies, and physical presence intertwine. The result is not a classical play but a performative landscape where dramaturgy opens up as a space of experience.
The Power Station as a resonance space
The location amplifies the impact with industrial force. The Power Station in Landscape Park Duisburg-Nord does not provide a comfortable theatre setting but rather a wide, rough space where light, shadow, and projections can reveal their full power. The audience moves freely through the scenes, encounters performers up close, and experiences a theatre atmosphere that resembles a pulsating installation more than a traditional auditorium.
Ritual, music, and physical intensity
The production combines performance art, dance, and traditional throat singing into an intense choreography of the elements. According to Ruhrtriennale, about 40 performers are involved; the performance lasts over four hours, and the audience can move freely in the space and re-enter at any time. This openness generates a special audience reaction: focus instead of distance, wonder instead of routine. Exactly therein lies the pull of this evening.
Accessibility, orientation, and visitor experience
For visitors, the venue offers concrete advantages: step-free access via ramp, information on audio description and tactile tours, as well as a performance on September 11 with German sign language. At the same time, the production demands attention and openness with black artificial turf, missing seats, and intense sensory impressions. Those who come will not experience a comfortable but an uncompromising stage experience.
Conclusion: An evening for the bold and curious
Balkan Erotic Epic is an extraordinary theatre evening for anyone seeking performance art as an immediate experience. Marina Abramović makes the power of ancient myths palpable in the industrial space of Duisburg and transforms the Power Station into a place between ritual and presence. Those who experience this production live encounter one of the most distinctive artistic signatures of our time.
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