Extreme spectacle: A Year Without Summer inspires in Berlin!
Extreme spectacle: A Year Without Summer inspires in Berlin!
Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz Berlin, Deutschland - On May 22, 2025, the Volksbühne in Berlin celebrated the premiere of "A Year Without Summer", a work by the choreographer and director Florentina Holzinger. The event was characterized by its special event character, in which filming the event was strictly forbidden. The performance addressed the year 1816, which went down in history as a "year without summer" after the Indonesian volcano Tambora broke out with unprecedented power in 1815. The explosion called for more than 100,000 lives and led to a global climatic catastrophe with devastating weather conditions and famines in Europe, as in an article by Deutschlandfunk.
The year 1816 not only produced a dramatic natural disaster, but was also the birth of Mary Shelley's iconic work "Frankenstein". During a stay at Lord Byron in Geneva, where the weather suffered significantly from the volcanic effects, the famous work was created. Shelley himself described bizarre weather phenomena in her diary and was part of a competition that led to the emergence of the novel. This connection to the literature forms a core point of the staging. Performance began with older performers who danced gently in the half -darkness before younger dancers were added and a transition to a celebration of physicality and pleasure. In cleverly choreographed scenes, led by Holzinger, who took on both direction and choreography, the audience was kidnapped in a world of extreme and spectacles. On stage there were humorous and coarse appearances from various "doctors", including Dr. Freud and Dr. Mengele. "A Year Without Summer" deals with central topics such as racial teaching, psychoanalysis, genetics and the pursuit of immortality. In contrast to these strong and often grotesque pictures, there were poetic moments, which in particular put the encounters between the different generations in the foreground. A highlight of the staging was a controversial scene that was provocative by physicality, through which the topic of empowerment was aimed and discussed. The impressive occupation consisted of artists such as Achahan Malonda, Andrea Baker, and Sofia Borges, whose interaction took place under the musical direction of Born in Flamez and Stefan Schneider. With an impressive team behind the scenes, which included dramaturge such as Felix Ritter and Michele Rizzo as well as technical staff, a complex and multifaceted staging was created that reflects the challenges of the time. topics and staging
artistic cooperation and production
The production was funded by DetailsOrt Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz Berlin, Deutschland Quellen