A Year Without Summer

Florentina Holzinger – acclaimed Austrian director, choreographer and performance artist –presents a bold story of transformation and the search for utopia in the midst of an apocalypse.

Blending dance, musical theatre, acrobatics and body horror, A Year Without Summer is an unforgettable exploration of what it means to be human.

Inspired by the real "year without summer" in 1816 when the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia plunged much of the world into darkness, the production revisits the moment Mary Shelley conceived Frankenstein. From this starting point, Holzinger and her ensemble – comprised of 24 women and non-binary performers ranging in age from their 20s to 80s – create a striking journey through health, identity, ageing, technology and the limits of the human body.

Bringing together powerful contrasts – youth and age, pain and tenderness, humans and machines, life and death – the production unfolds through a series of unforgettable images.

Florentina Holzinger is transforming contemporary art and theatre with her boundary-pushing blend of dance, acrobatics, body horror and performance art. Seaworld Venice (2026), her striking Venice Biennial debut, cemented her status as one of the most exciting and influential artists working today. A Year Without Summer is a rare opportunity to experience her visually spectacular work in the UK.

A landmark piece of theatre and art, A Year Without Summer is filled with dark humour, vulnerability and beauty.