World Premiere: A Possibility - Manchester International Festival

Description

A Possibility 

an artwork for the theatre by Germaine Kruip

with new compositions by Emily Howard and Hahn Rowe


Dates: 17 - 20 Jul 2025
Venue: RNCM, 124 Oxford Rd, Manchester M13 9RD

Germaine Kruip transforms the theatre space into a world of wonder – merging illusion, sound and performance to create infinite possibilities

A Possibility is a new artwork for the theatre by Dutch artist Germaine Kruip exploring the possibilities of perception, sound and performance. Performed at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), the piece features new compositions by British composer Emily Howard and American composer Hahn Rowe.

Originally trained as a scenographer, Germaine Kruip’s unique practice connects the worlds of visual arts, architecture and performance into immersive experiences. Like much of Kruip’s work, A Possibility hands over the power of interpretation to the audience – becoming a meditation on how we see, perceive and shape our experience, both individually and collectively.

Set in two parts, the first act distills the essence of Kruip’s 2014 performance A Possibility of an Abstraction, and has light as its principal actor. Reimagined for MIF25, the stage becomes a blank canvas for a play of perception, where light interacts with shadows, reflections and the exposed architecture of the theatre to cast them as characters in a live performance.

In the new second act, Kruip introduces bodies: enter percussionists Youjin Lee, Akane Tominaga, Victor Lodeon, and Gil Hyoungkwon as performers. Brass sculptures, developed by Kruip in collaboration with renowned German manufacturer Thein Brass, become both the set and the instruments for a musical ritual. The score by Emily Howard blends strings with percussion to create a seamless dialogue with Hahn Rowe’s compositions.

Rowe, a three-time Bessie Award-winning composer and producer, is known for collaborations with icons like Yoko Ono, R.E.M. and Anohni, while Howard, no stranger to the festival, composed the score for MIF19’s The Anvil: An Elegy for Peterloo.

Credits:

Director Germaine Kruip

Musical Director Hahn Rowe

Composers Emily Howard and Hahn Rowe

Dramaturg Bart Van Den Eynde

Lighting Designer Germaine Kruip and Rob Halliday

Assistant Director Maxime Fauconnier

Percussionists Youjin Lee, Akane Tominaga, Victor Lodeon, Gil Hyoungkwon

Strings Michaela Jones, Audrey Doyle, Bruno Robalo, Jasmine Blackshaw-Britton (Heartwood Quartet, Royal Northern College of Music)

We would like to thank Royal Northern College of Music for their generous support on the project with the Heartwood Quartet for Emily Howard’s composition.

Commissioned by Factory International and Holland Festival. Produced by Factory International.

Period	17 Jul 2025 → 20 Jul 2025
Held at	Factory International
Degree of Recognition	International