AN ARK

Our full address is Aviva Studios, Water Street, Manchester M3 4JQ and the what3words is chop.feeds.chase.

You can approach Aviva Studios along Water Street (coming from Quay Street) or along Liverpool Road (coming from Deansgate or Castlefield). Both entrances to the building have double sets of glass doors.

Once inside Aviva Studios, there is step-free access to all areas of the venue. The flooring throughout the building is smooth concrete.

The entrance to the Warehouse is by lift or stairs from the Social. Two lifts and a staircase to the Warehouse are located in the Social opposite the bar.

The entrance to the Andrew Law Hall is by lift, escalator or stairs from one side of the Social beside the brick arches. There is only one escalator, and this will take you up to the Andrew Law Hall before the show, and will be reversed so that you can travel down at the end of the performance.

The Social has a range of seating, including those with arms and backs.

The bars in the Social and Hall Foyer have lowered accessible service points.

Our building is large. We have portable stools available to borrow if you would benefit from resting along the way during your visit.

We have wheelchair spaces and seats at standing events for all events.

There are accessible toilets on all public levels of our building.

Accessible toilets are located inside the main toilets space in the brick arches of the Social.

Here you’ll find a mixture of accessible cubicles with left- or right-hand transfer, towards the back of the space, as well as ambulant accessible cubicles with grab rails.

The toilets in the brick arches of the Social are split into male, female and gender neutral – all of which contain accessible cubicles. There are shared handwashing facilities in each arch – they have soap dispensers under the mirrors to your left and dryers to the right. There are separate handwashing facilities inside the accessible cubicles.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in both Hall Foyers, at stalls and circle level.

There are additional single-room accessible toilets located in the Warehouse Foyer.

You do not need a key to use the accessible toilets at Aviva Studios.

Please note, our Changing Places facility is temporarily out of action. We are working to fix this and apologise for any inconvenience caused.

Assistance dogs are welcome in our building, and we can provide mats and water bowls on request, just ask a host when you arrive. We can also take care of your assistance dog if you do not want to take your dog into the performance space. Please also refer to our assistance dogs policy.

If you are bringing an assistance dog to a ticketed event, please let us know in advance by contacting access@factoryinternational.org or calling our access phone number: 0161 817 4531 (phone lines are open 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday).

Please note this show is general admission with unreserved seating. Accessible seating is available to pre-book when purchasing a ticket. 

There is step-free access to all areas of the venue, with lift access to the Hall from the Social.

All access tickets – including wheelchair user spaces, accessible viewing platform tickets and essential companion tickets – must be bought directly from Factory International.

To book access tickets online or register for free essential companion tickets, please sign up to our Access Scheme. We aim to process all applications within five working days.

If you need to book access tickets while your application is being processed, or would prefer to book your tickets by phone, please call up on 0161 817 4531. Phone lines are typically open 10am to 6pm, Tuesday to Friday, but for our latest phone line opening hours, please visit our Contact Us page.

If you need to make an access booking but are unable to do so over the phone, please email access@factoryinternational.org. We aim to respond to all emails within two working days.

For more information, please visit How to Book Access Tickets.

Please note that An Ark is experienced through optically transparent mixed reality headsets which will not fit comfortably over worn prescription eyewear. Guests requiring vision correction should wear contact lenses if able to do so. In-device lens correction solutions are available for glasses wearers, but due to the limitations of the device, guests should be advised that these lenses may not offer perfect vision correction.

We know that visitors appreciate detailed information on the content of our shows in order to make informed decisions and to prepare themselves or members of their party.

AN ARK is a meditation on human life and addresses serious themes such as suicide / killing oneself in despair, the death of a parent, getting sick, and general mortality. Not recommended for young children. 

This page will be continuously updated as the show is developed, and will be finalised on 26 March 2027.

If there are specific themes or technical effects not spoken to above that you are concerned about, please reach out to us by emailing access@factoryinternational.org or by giving us a call on 0161 817 4531.

There are captioned performances of AN ARK on the following dates and times:

Thursday 8 April, 7.30pm

Saturday 10 April, 2pm

A pre-recorded, audio described introduction will be available to support the experience of visually impaired ticket holders for all performances from Thursday 1 April onwards.

This will be emailed to all visitors 24 hours before your visit and will also be available to listen to at Aviva Studios on the day. Simply head to the Orange Information Point on arrival to borrow the relevant MP3 player.

There will be a relaxed performance of AN ARK on Sunday 4 April at 10am.

Our relaxed performances are designed specifically to support our learning disabled and neurodivergent visitors. In addition to a quieter entry experience, the availability of a chill-out space, and the support of Visitor Experience team who have completed enhanced disability awareness training, the relaxed performance of AN ARK will begin with a bespoke introduction to the space and the work. Visitors will be able to come and go as they please, and are encouraged to enjoy the experience in whatever way is most authentic to them.