A Year Without Summer review | Rising: Melbourne | Arts Centre Melbourne

Florentina Holzinger's A Year Without Summer takes its title from the extraordinary events of 1816, when the eruption of Mount Tambora in present-day Indonesia triggered a global climatic disaster. The resulting crop failures, famine and unseasonably cold weather led to what became known as the "Year Without a Summer", exposing both the fragility of human civilisation and the unpredictable power of the natural world.

Among those affected by this turbulent period was Mary Shelley, who spent the summer of 1816 confined indoors near Lake Geneva with Percy Bysshe Shelley, Claire Clairmont, and Lord Byron. Inspired by conversations of science, mortality and the possibility of creating life, Shelley began writing Frankenstein, a novel that continues to shape understandings of humanity’s relationship with technology and scientific ambition. Holzinger draws on this as the foundation for her production’s exploration of the body and its transformation through medicine and technology.

Doctor in the House review - Melbourne International Comedy Festival

Ahmed Kazmi is a doctor: a real life doctor. He also happens to be a comedian who can sing and dance and in his enjoyable Melbourne International Comedy Festival Show, Doctor in the House, Kazmi explores the high and lows of the medical profession while informing the audience of some dos and don'ts when visiting their GP.

The softly spoken doctor recalls his fondness for looking after older patients and the experiences he's had with them, which has involved him hosting and performing in a Christmas carolling evening at a retirement village. He also lists the various types of patients he sees at his clinic, like the 'one-liner' responders and the 'patient-by-proxy', as well as some of the more unique people he's received, which elicits many laughs from the audience. Dr. Kazmi is quick to inform us that no real names or specific details are being used, so if you’ve ever seen the doctor, your anonymity is secure.