S6 EP7: Marina Abramovic on the relationship between performance and pain, never feeling loved in her childhood, and harmful conspiracies

The Louis Theroux Podcast

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Tuesday, 18 November 2025 - 1 hour 11 minutes

For the final episode of this series, Louis travels to Manchester to sit down with Marina Abramovic, the self-proclaimed “grandmother of performance art”. Marina tells Louis the stories behind some of her most famous artworks, as well as the relationship between performance and pain, never feeling loved in her childhood, and being caught in the middle of an online conspiracy.    

Warnings: Strong language and adult themes.  

Links/Attachments: 

Balkan Erotic Epic, Marina Abramovic (2025) 

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/may/22/manchester-to-host-world-premiere-of-marina-abramovics-balkan-erotic-epic  

The Artist is Present, Marina Abramovic (2010) 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2073029/ 

Lips of Thomas, Marina Abramovic (1975) 

https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/5176 

Rhythm 0, Marina Abramovic (1974) 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTBkbseXfOQ&list=PL0bCt-VbCH4N3823Lj7uNAFLiYDjSnbTp&index=1 

Cut Piece, Yoko Ono (1964) 

https://www.moma.org/audio/playlist/15/373  

Cut Piece, Yoko Ono (2005): 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/sep/16/arts.france  

Bob Wilson’s Life and Death of Marina Abramovic, (2012) 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2177497/  

Book: When Marina Abramovic Dies, James Westcott (2014) 

https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262526814/when-marina-abramovic-dies/  

Light – Dark, Ulay & Marina Abramovic (1978) 

https://www.stedelijk.nl/en/collection/13991-ulay-light-dark  

Seedbed, Vito Acconci (1972) 

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/266876  

Seven Easy Pieces, Marina Abramovic (2005) 

http://pastexhibitions.guggenheim.org/abramovic/  

The Great Wall Walk, Marina Abramovic (1988) 

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2020/apr/25/marina-abramovic-ulay-walk-the-great-wall-of-china  

Book: Walk Through Walls: A Memoir, Marina Abramovic (2016) 

https://www.waterstones.com/book/walk-through-walls/marina-abramovic/9780241974520  

Balkan Baroque, Marina Abramovic (1997) 

https://www.singulart.com/blog/en/2024/06/03/balkan-baroque-by-marina-abramovic/?srsltid=AfmBOopPyXzjOP800ERQMaHvbiNNps0oMBOCmOKjWOhdpNt6X6kEvu2k  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQigTZuTmv0 

BBC Maestro, Marina Abramovic: 

https://www.bbcmaestro.com/courses/marina-abramovic/the-art-of-being-present 

Article: ‘Marina Abramovic Just Wants Conspiracy Theorists to Let Her Be’, New York Times, 2020 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/21/arts/design/marina-abramovic-satanist-conspiracy-theory.html  

The Seven Deaths of Maria Callas (2022) 

https://www.harrisonparrott.com/news/2022-11-04/marina-abramovic-brings-the-seven-deaths-of-maria-callas-to-royal  

The Truth Vs Alex Jones (2024) 

https://tv.apple.com/gb/show/the-truth-vs-alex-jones/umc.cmc.1azsv881ew8mcjozutufy51vf  

Credits: 

Producer: Millie Chu  

Assistant Producer: Maan al-Yasiri  

Production Manager: Francesca Bassett  

Music: Miguel D’Oliveira  

Audio Mixer: Tom Guest 

Video Mixer: Scott Edwards  

Shownotes compiled by Elly Young 

Executive Producer: Arron Fellows  

A Mindhouse Production for Spotify  

www.mindhouse.co.uk  

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