The immersive performance will be a dramatic retelling of The Matrix through hip-hop choreography
Factory International will be officially opening their flagship new venue in Manchester in October.
To celebrate, they will present Free Your Mind, a large-scale immersive performance presented across the building’s unique spaces between October 13 and November 5.
Free Your Mind will be a powerful collaboration between choreographer Kenrick ‘H2O’ Sandy MBE, renowned composer Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante MBE, world-leading designer Es Devlin, BAFTA-winning producer Tracey Seaward, writer Sabrina Mahfouz, and director Danny Boyle.
Based on The Matrix films, Free Your Mind is a large-scale immersive performance, specially created for the opening of Factory International’s new home in the heart of Manchester. It will explore the ongoing technological revolution and how the metaverse could change our lives forever.
“Back in 1999 The Matrix really challenged and pushed me and Kenrick into a different zone of what we wanted to try and create,” said Asante. “Free Your Mind is the opportunity to play with what was an inspirational and very important cultural moment, and create, envisage and enjoy something that is totally fresh, something that allows your mind to go to spaces that it wouldn’t usually go. Free Your Mind is an abstract telling of The Matrix, trying to show audiences something different through dance while maintaining solid fan service towards it, through a true artistic collaboration.”
This performance will recreate some of the film’s most iconic scenes through hip-hop choreography, immersive set design, and captivating visual effects.
“Free Your Mind is a show that dedicates a brand-new building to its city, bringing the world-changing industrial history of Manchester face to face with the future it helped ignite,” said Boyle. “Our ambition is to see audiences engage with this new space so they feel like, and they know that, the building is theirs.”
“Since its inception in 2007 Manchester International Festival has produced some of the most innovative and urgent works I’ve been fortunate enough to witness, which have had an immense impact on my practice including such pioneers as Steve McQueen, Adam Curtis, Marina Abramović, Björk, Akram Khan, Yoko Ono and more,” added Es Devlin. “Factory International will continue to cultivate these world-class
collaborations, with each project rooted on this specific site and within the community in
Manchester.”
Reflecting Factory International’s commitment to ensuring access to the widest possible audiences, 5,000 tickets will be available for Free Your Mind at £10 or less as part of an affordable pricing strategy that will see discounted tickets for Manchester communities across its year-round programme.
Get your tickets for Free Your Mind here.