In photos: Blackhaine‘s And Now I Know What Love Is at MIF25

Last week, former Crack Magazine cover star Blackhaine premiered his immersive And Now I Know What Love Is performance as part of Manchester International Festival 2025, hosted by Factory International.

Running from 9-19 July at the atmospheric Diecast venue, the immersive show joined a bold line-up of world premieres and artistic interventions across Manchester for MIF25, including free events on Festival Square and major works in Aviva Studios and beyond.

Drawing on his North West upbringing, Blackhaine led audiences through desolate, post‑industrial spaces in a visceral exploration of birth, death, love, and despair. Set against a smoky, cavernous backdrop, the piece blended music, text, and choreographed movement, inviting attendees to roam around a company of dancers, dissolving the boundary between performer and viewer.

As Blackhaine described it: “The work presents an exposed urban environment, melted through psychedelic treatments. It is about finding love and comfort, after being pierced through walls of noise.”

Look back on the show in the photos below.