Edinburgh Fringe 2025
Panoptikum
Lenka Vagnerová & Company
Genre: Dance, Physical Theatre
Venue: Zoo Southside
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Panoptikum amazes, entertains, and frightens. It has pace, humour and a strong theme with an emphasis on humanism. Thrilling, impressive dance which is an expression of total theatre, invites the spectator to a mystically decadent, visually compact freak show, over which the magical theatre dust of something ancient hovers. The world, inspired by the phenomenon of the nineteenth century, says a lot about our contemporary world. Panoptikum is about the fear of the stranger and the unknown, but also courage and hope. The multi award-winning dance theatre company returns to the Fringe!
Review
Panoptikum is a show about the unknown and the curious – based on a fascinating concept of travelling performing companies of curiosities. Created, choreographed and directed by Lenka Vagnerová from Prague, Czech Republic and performed by a cast of eight dancers and performers from the Lenka Vagnerová Company, this is an imaginative and edgy production integrating magical elements with quirky characters who are all different – surreal and decadent.
The background on the stage is grey and ominous yet is appropriate for the tone of the show – the unexpected! Old time organ music plays evoking a different time and place when a man in black with a very tall top hat drags a big box of props onstage. Two elegantly dressed people wearing heavy coats and wide brimmed hats walk together to watch the magical box do what it needs to do – perform a kind of magic, with a difference! The assistant has her own way of assisting while drinking a cup of coffee…
An oddly shaped character in black moves haltingly across… another character balances a mysterious head on its shoulders…a two headed woman appears in a beautiful wide skirted black ballroom gown which sparkles. So many characters, images and scenes tumble out of this darkly lit space and each has its moment in the spotlight. The visual storytelling is astonishing and vivid throughout the ninety minute show.
Panoptikum is entirely performed in theatrical movement and dance with no spoken words. Scenes are set to original eerie melodic and pulsating music by Ivan Archer, which adds so much atmosphere throughout the show. Lighting design by Michael Kriz is moody, dark, finely focused and helps to create the world of Panoptikum. A highlight is the beautifully designed costumes by Simona Rybáková and Jakub Kopecký, who combine a variety of textures, colours and details that are not only elegant but are also intriguing.
Panoptikum refers to the freak shows of the 19th century when people flocked to see people perform curious skills for entertainment and a living for the performers – and this show evokes this spirit. Lenka Vagnerová offers a contemporary version where today’s world of prejudice and extreme values are mirrored on stage inspired from real-life stories, hopes and dreams.
Scenes move from one to another seamlessly with impeccable transitions. One minute the performers are doing a vigorous acrobatic dance – then a macabre act – followed by an act defying logic underscored by some ghoulish clanky music that complements this scene perfectly! There are also tender moments and nostalgic ones, too that vary the pace of the show. A singer perhaps creates the most bizarre imagery of the show – you have to see this moment to experience it!
Panoptikum is beautiful, poignant, unusual, magical, curious and about the stranger and unknown. It’s macabre, weird and wonderful!
