Factory International

Factory+

From video series and podcasts to editorial takeovers, artist experiments and virtual worlds - it’s all here at Factory+.

THEY

Maxine Peake wearing a blue jacket and speaking – in They at John Rylands Library
Now available to watch on Factory+ following a sell-out run at MIF23 in the iconic John Rylands Library, Maxine Peake, Sarah Frankcom and Imogen Knight return with the film premiere of They – directed for the screen by Joseph Lynn. Available on demand until May 8.
Watch On Demand →

Series

In the Studio

Artists and collectives show us the space where their ideas come to life.

Dream Space

What does art have the power or potential to do, when we allow ourselves to dream? We explore this in our new podcast, hosted by Gemma Cairney.

Building Worlds

Building Worlds takes you behind the scenes of our productions to meet the teams and people that create a show.

Factory Sessions

Discover live performances from the best in the business and Manchester’s next gen of musicians.

Read

New Writers

New Writers brings you flash fiction from emerging writers based in the North of England.

Editor in Residence

Factory+ commissions some of the most exciting voices in contemporary writing to explore a selection of themes.

  • Editor in Residence | McKenzie Wark

    Author McKenzie Wark took up residence on Factory+ to muse on the question: where do you go to free your body? Read the full collection of essays here.

  • Editor in Residence | Kemi Alemoru

    Our first Editor in Residence was Gal-dem Editor Kemi Alemoru who commissioned a collection contemporary UK writing to explore the theme of space.

All articles

An introduction to David Hoyle

Actor, cabaret star and visual artist – get to know David Hoyle and his many personas

Keith Khan: ‘I’m very interested in exploring form’

Multidisciplinary artist Keith Khan breaks down The Accountants and how this huge stage spectacle came together

Mudar Alhaggi: 'I return to any art capable of touching my soul and mind'

Playwright Mudar Alhaggi on the inspiration for The Long Shadow of Alois Brunner and the power of stories

Tue Biering: 'We are all made up of stories'

Director Tue Biering on the stories at the heart of Dark Noon and making art that responds to the current moment.

An avant-garde animal adventure from the mind of Robert Wilson

Eliza Williams explores Robert Wilson’s visionary style and his step into making theatre for all the family.

Nhlanhla Mahlangu: 'Art reminds us that after all we are human'

Dark Noon co-director Nhlanhla Mahlangu on South African liberation and what art keeps him inspired in difficult times.

Creative Space in a Time of Upheaval

John McGrath – Artistic Director & Chief Executive of Factory International – introduces our February and March programme.

A sequence of unease

Lucy Scholes explores the writing, reception and rediscovery of Kay Dick’s dystopian masterpiece, They.

Games

I CAN'T FOLLOW YOU ANYMORE

I CAN'T FOLLOW YOU ANYMORE
This new browser-based video game from artist and world builder Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley explores Black trans identity, spirituality and resistance through vampires – all wrapped up in a 90s horror aesthetic.
Discover more and play →

  • We Dwell in Possibility

    The latest digital work in our Virtual Factory series is a queer gardening simulation by Robert Yang and Eleanor Davis.

  • Your Progress Will Be Saved

    LaTurbo Avedon journeys inside Fortnite Creative for the first work in our Virtual Factory series

  • Songs of the Lost

    Paloma Dawkins' magic-realist game odyssey through a surreal and absurd digital landscape.

  • Lost Memories Dot Net

    MIF’s first ever game commission, courtesy of one of the most innovative and individual video game designers working today - Nina Freeman.

Art

  • Factory Works

    A new audio artwork and accompanying film by Neville Gabie – created with Nabihah Iqbal, Mark Thomas and the construction workers who built Aviva Studios.

  • Postcards From Now

    Postcards from Now presents five distinct films from leading international artists.that responded to the Global Pandemic.

  • To the Moon

    In this interactive essay, Laurie Anderson shares how she drew inspiration from constellations to create a new work in VR for MIF19, To the Moon.

  • Big Ben Lying Down With Political Books

    Explore Argentinian art pioneer Marta Minujín’s participatory artwork alongside comprehensive archives of her work.

  • Portrait Of Black Britain Online

    This online gallery profiles a range of Black people living in the UK today, the contributions they make and the roles they play in society

  • The Story of Aviva Studios

    Explore the journey from ambitious idea to landmark cultural venue through four commissioned projects.

Experiments

Immersive Tech In Performance

In 2019, we began a major piece of research and development exploring how audiences of the future will experience live performance. Fifteen specialist organisations, including MIF brought together their expertise in theatre and performance, the music industry, video production, gaming and the research sector to explore what it means to perform live using technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality.

To celebrate the completion of this research many of the findings have been published at Findings In The Future, a collection of panel discussions and technical documents that share insights into the making of DYSTOPIA987, Dream and more.

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Adapting Story, Character & Performance for XR

00:58:10

Performance, Puppetry and XR Stages

01:05:37

Cross Sector R&D

00:44:10

Physical and Virtual Counterparts: Blending Real and Virtual Worlds

00:52:49

Talks

Photographs of Tino Sehgal and Juan Mata

Formations: Tino Sehgal and Juan Mata In Conversation

01:06:58

Photo of Benji Reid speaking

Benji Reid

00:27:09

Photo of Ryan Gander speaking

Ryan Gander

00:45:32

Laurie Anderson

00:58:58

Forensic Architecture

01:07:55

All Of This Unreal Time

00:46:30

Marta Minujín

00:47:47

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