Factory International announces Spring Summer 2026 season of premieres at Aviva Studios

Factory International has announced its Spring/Summer 2026 season of premieres at Aviva Studios in Manchester, bringing together new large-scale productions across dance, theatre, music and visual art.

Running from May through September, the programme features three world premieres and one UK premiere, with artists including Ai Weiwei, Sonya Tayeh, Du Yun, Theatre-Rites and Gregory Maqoma leading a season focused on power, protest, imagination and storytelling.

Scroll down and check out more information on each of the premieres, tickets to which are now open for Factory International members, with general sale going live on Tuesday, 27th January at 10am.

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Return to the Forest

When: 7th – 10th May 2026

Co-produced with Theatre-Rites, Return to the Forest is a world premiere puppetry and dance work for families, inviting audiences to reflect on what we treasure and how we connect.

Directed by Sue Buckmaster with choreography by award-winning South African artist Gregory Maqoma, the show transforms a museum setting into a living forest filled with movement, puppetry and play. Designed for audiences aged 8+, the production continues Theatre-Rites and Maqoma’s long-standing relationship with Manchester following past Manchester International Festival collaborations.

"Step inside a museum where precious treasures are on display. But remember – strictly no touching! Dusk falls, and the museum is getting ready to close, but something is beginning to stir. Only a few visitors remain. The precious objects seem to call to them, yearning to be freed... Is this a heist happening in front of your eyes? Can it really be a heist when the objects are leading the way?"

Angel’s Bone

When: 12th – 16th May 2026

The season opens with the UK premiere of Angel’s Bone, the Pulitzer Prize–winning opera by Chinese-American composer Du Yun, presented by English National Opera in collaboration with Factory International and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.

Directed by Kip Williams in his ENO and UK opera debut, the production breaks with operatic tradition by fusing chamber music, electronica, spoken word and immersive staging. The work explores modern slavery and human trafficking through a dark parable of power, exploitation and moral collapse, with the chorus performed by Manchester-based ensemble Kantos Chamber Choir.

"Mr and Mrs X.E, are a desperate couple facing financial crisis and a crumbling marriage and they long for a better life. When they discover the two bruised and battered angels in their garden, they bring them inside to nurse them back to life.

"Care quickly turns to control. The couple seize the opportunity to exploit the spiritual beings in pursuit of fame and fortune.

"Brutally clipping the angels’ wings to exploit this heavenly gift, the celestial beings are subjected to degrading, inhumane practices.

The Surge: An Ode to Sinéad O’Connor

When: 25th – 27th June 2026

Tony Award–winning choreographer Sonya Tayeh presents the world premiere of The Surge: An Ode to Sinéad O’Connor, a new dance work set to the music and voice of the late Irish artist.

Performed by an ensemble of ten women and presented in partnership with New York’s The Joyce Theater, the piece explores voice, protest, spiritual reckoning and defiance. O’Connor’s recorded vocals and excerpts from her memoir Rememberings run through the work, shaping a powerful meditation on resistance and identity.

On the show, Sonya Tayeh said: “To me, Sinéad O’Connor’s music is rooted in a sense of a desire for freedom, an unrelenting righteousness and a quest for a spiritual awakening. The depth of emotion in her music is unmatched and vibrates through the dance space with such electric inspiration for me, and has for decades now. I am so grateful to be working with ten women across many genres of the art form – from dance scholars and makers to teachers and seekers – to join me in the howl. To join me in The Surge.”

Ai Weiwei: Button Up!

When: 2nd July – 6th September 2026

Closing the season is Button Up!, a major new exhibition from world-renowned artist and activist Ai Weiwei, and his most ambitious presentation in the North of England to date.

Spanning sculpture, installation, photography and architectural works, the exhibition examines 200 years of Chinese and British relations, tracing histories of power, trade and empire through materials including porcelain, cotton, glass, bronze, buttons and toy bricks. Conceived as a total environment, the exhibition also features the world premiere of new works created specifically for the vast spaces of Aviva Studios’ Warehouse.

On the show, Ai Weiwei said: “I’m not interested in making very big things just for the sake of it. But in Manchester, that wonderful Warehouse space calls for monumental work. Visiting the city for this exhibition – the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution – and reflecting on Britain’s global territorial expansion made me realise I had to explore that history and understand how it connects to the forces driving today’s wars and global crises. The world today is deeply divided, with tragedy all around. Understanding history goes hand in hand with standing up for truth and justice.”

To find more information on each of these shows, as well as a full programme of other happenings at Factory International and Aviva Studios, visit their website by clicking or tapping - HERE

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Header image credit: Factory International on Facebook