Created by the singular German artist and composer Heiner Goebbels and receiving its world premiere in Manchester as part of 14-18 NOW, this Artangel co-commission explored Europe since the outbreak of the first great war of the 20th century: a contradictory, non-linear world lurching from the crisis of conflict to the promise of peace as 100 years pass by.

Part-performance, part-construction site, Everything that happened and would happen was a re-enactment of history, always on the verge of collapse – only to be rebuilt as if nothing had happened.

Featuring 20 performers and musicians, this new work brought together live music, performance, sound, movement and image on the site of Mayfield, a former railway station in Manchester.

Each performance lasted approximately three hours, with audiences invited to explore the space and experience the work from a range of different vantage points.

This world premiere was presented with Manchester International Festival as a pre-Factory event for its new world-class arts space The Factory, being developed in Manchester.

To coincide with the premiere, Heiner Goebbels spoke about his work at a pair of special in-conversation events: with fellow artist-composer Claudia Molitor at the Whitworth in Manchester on Wed 17 October ; and with Hartwig Fischer, Director of the British Museum, at the Goethe-Institut London on Mon 15 October.

Produced by Artangel.  Co-commissioned by 14-18 NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions, Artangel, Park Avenue Armory and Ruhrtriennale.
The world premiere is co-presented by Artangel and Manchester International Festival (MIF) as a pre-Factory event.

Header image: Heiner Goebbels Everything that happened and would happen (2018) performance workshop in Essen, Germany –  Photographer © Killa Schuetze

Main body image: Heiner Goebbels Everything that happened and would happen © Klaus Grünberg