Theaterformen: A Year without Summer

In the organizer's words:

A Year without Summer - Florentina Holzinger, Vienna / Berlin

2025 - a year without summer. The world seems enraptured, plunged into darkness and robbed of all certainty. A reality in which daily survival becomes a ritual, despair and ecstasy dance hand in hand.

Originally, 1816 went down in history as the "year without a summer". After the eruption of the Tambora volcano in Indonesia, the sky is full of ash, the sun has disappeared, the harvests have failed - and the world is starving. 18-year-old Mary spends the cold summer months with other poets on Lake Geneva, where the storm and darkness inspire her to write horror stories. Mary imagines Dr. Frankenstein, a scientific genius who forces nature to bend to his will and ends up destroying his monster made of corpse parts.

Florentina Holzinger and ensemble explore the stories we tell about our bodies, health and identity, our decay and our environment: The pursuit of immortality in the 21st century, medical promises of rejuvenation, to the dangers of uncontrolled technological growth in a world shaped by AI, robotics and bioengineering. "A Year without Summer" tells of the improvement of nature to the point of perversion and is an attempt to play off the promise of eternal life against certain death.

But what happens when creation gives birth to a monster?

Florentina Holzinger is a choreographer and performer. In her spectacular and physically intense pieces, she incorporates references from the history of performance and dance and relates them to other disciplines such as kickboxing, artistry, striptease and circus. Her works consciously play with the shifting boundaries between high and pop culture and are always feminist manifestos. She critically examines the representation of femininity and reflects on body discipline and gender images in dance. In 2021, Florentina Holzinger was represented with TANZ. A sylphidic reverie in stunts at the Festival Theaterformen.

Direction, choreography, performance Florentina Holzinger Performance by and with Achan Malonda, Andrea Baker, Annina Machaz, Bärbel Warneke, Beatrice "Trixie" Cordua, Blathin Eckhardt, Born in Flamez, Brigitte "Gitti" Ulm, Constanza Pérez de Lara Bonatti, Bear Boy, Fibi Eyewalker, Florentina Holzinger, Gibrana Cervantes, Liane Jil Apel, Luna Luz de Duran, Marion Strauß, MING, Netti Nüganen, otay:onii, Renée Copraij, Renée Eigendorff, Saioa Alvarez, Ruiz, Sahel van K, Sofia Borges, Sophie Duncan, Sue Shay, Xana Novais, and many more. Musical direction Born in Flamez, Stefan Schneider Composition Born in Flamez, Stefan Schneider, Josephinex Ashley Hansis Live music Blathin Eckhardt, Born in Flamez, Gibrana Cervantes, otay:onii, Sofia Borges, MING Dramaturgy Felix Ritter, Fernando Belfiore, Michele Rizzo, Sara Ostertag Dramaturgy Volksbühne Leonie Hahn Assistant director Xavier Perez Stage Nikola Knežević Costume Christiane Hilmer Technical direction Emma Juliard, Stephan Werner Stage technology, rigging Dörte Wilforth Stunt coordinator Ronny Hornig - Gravity Stunts Coaching Leon Le Nestour, Elisa Siegmund Lighting design Kevin Sock Video design, Robotics Zoe Bassi Sound Engineering Olivia Oyama Sound Assistance Fjóla Gautadóttir Stage Assistance Christiane Hilmer Intimacy Coordinator Dani Brown, Frida Giulia Franceschini Production Management Sarah Parolin, Katharina Wallisch PR and Communication Giulia Messia Tour Management Sarah Parolin with Moira L Sunter Garee Management, International Distribution neon lobster / Katharina Wallisch & Giulia Messia Photo Annette Hauschild / Ostkreuz

A production by Florentina Holzinger/Spirit, neon lobster, Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz Berlin. In co-production with Tanzquartier Vienna, International Summer Festival Kampnagel, Dansenhus Stockholm, DESINGEL Antwerp, Maska Ljubljana, asphalt Festival Düsseldorf, Rising Melbourne, Factory International Manchester, Divine Comedy International Theater Festival / Łaźnia Nowa Theater (Kraków) and Marvaða Iceland.

Funded by the Capital Cultural Fund and the Cultural Department of the City of Vienna.

With the support of the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport Austria.

Thanks to Alicia Beier, Karsten Schuhl, Flo (doughnut head), Sina Lorber, Ada's Deli, Dani Brown, Frida Giulia Franceschini.

Trigger warnings: Self-harming behaviour, blood, needles, strobe lights, explicit depiction or description of physical or sexualized violence