Opening this week in Berlin: Marina Abramović’s 'Balkan Erotic Epic. The Stage Version'

Lisson is pleased to announce Marina Abramović’s Balkan Erotic Epic. The Stage Version opens on 13 October at Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Berlin, inaugurating the 2026/2027 Performing Arts Season. Commissioned as part of Berliner Festspiele’s 75th anniversary programme, the production draws on the folklore, myths and erotic rituals of the Balkans, the region where the artist grew up.

Bringing together singers, dancers and musicians, the work explores the relationship between eroticism, spirituality and the body through a sequence of ritualistic scenes. Reinterpreting traditional beliefs surrounding fertility, death and the natural world, Abramović considers erotic energy as a force that connects individuals and communities, dissolving boundaries between the sacred and the profane, life and death.

The stage production builds on Abramović’s 2005 video work of the same name, extending her longstanding investigation into the limits of the body and its capacity to convey collective histories and experiences. It follows Balkan Erotic Epic. The Exhibition, presented at Gropius Bau from April to August 2026, which brought together historical and new works, film and sculptural installations, and live performance.

Explore via Berliner Festspiele.

Shown here: Portrait of Marina Abramović, 2022. © The Artist, Courtesy Lisson. Photo by Marco Anelli.