Suche
Mein Konto
Scandalous staging: Holzinger's A Year Without Summer inspired!
Florentina Holzinger's new play "A Year Without Summer" addresses the female body and self -optimization in the context of the historical year without summer. An premiere on May 22, 2025.
Scandalous staging: Holzinger's A Year Without Summer inspired!
In an impressive spectacle, the director and choreographer Florentina Holzinger illuminates the topics of physicality and identity in her latest production "A Year Without Summer". The performance, which due to their unconventional representations of female bodies, is particularly looking for women and people who identify as female, between the ages of 65 and 90. Kleine Zeitung reports that the production that is inspired by 1816, the so-called "year without summer", was triggered by a volcanic eruption, while Mary Shelley her famous novel "Frankenstein" wrote.The idea begins in a captivating way: an actress tells of the creation of "Frankenstein" and raises the question of what to do without summer in a year. This narrative is followed by a dynamic staging in which several women dance together, undress and pass into an orgium romance. Such radicals and revealing representations of female bodies are characteristic of Holzinger's work and excite both admiration and controversy.
an artistic experiment full of intensity
"A Year Without Summer" uses provocation as an artistic means: Before the performance, warnings are given about possible triggers that warn of violence, body fluids and explicit content. This is reminiscent of similar trigger warnings that were already used in Holzinger's productions such as "Sancta" and "Ophelia’s Got Talent". The premiere extends over two hours and ends with an extensive fecal orgy, whereby the topics of self-optimization, the aging body and the artificially created life are treated.
A scene in which an artist from her thigh is particularly impressive is a small embryo figure, while another actress is pulled up with a "ultimate facelift" with hooks on the face. A figure that Sigmund Freud represents occurs and gives the staging an additional psychological context.
physicality in cultural education
Holzinger's work also raises questions about the role of physicality in artistic and cultural education. As explained [Kubi Online] (https://www.kubionline.de/artikel/zur-relevanz-doerperlich-leiblichen-kuenstllerische-Aesthetic formation), the body plays a central role in the entire process of perception and action. Disciplines such as music, dance and visual art are closely connected to the body and underline the need for body -oriented cultural education. Maurice Merleau-Ponty emphasizes the body as a fundamental medium for aesthetic experiences, which is also reflected in the aesthetics of Holzinger's work.
The musical direction of "A Year Without Summer" takes over Born in Flamez and Stefan Schneider, while numerous prominent performers are part of production, including Achahan Malonda, Andrea Baker and Annina Machaz. The premiere found great response and ended with standing ovation, which proves the relevance and the artistic force of this extraordinary project.
Holzinger not only remains true to your line, but also produces new perspectives that inspect the audience to think about body, identity and social norms.