Edinburgh Fringe 2026
EXIT
Circumstances
Genre: Circus, Contemporary, Dance
Venue: Zoo Southside
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
Four circus artists move through a shifting world of revolving walls and floating doors. In EXIT, choreographer Piet Van Dycke blends circus and dance into a thrilling physical performance where movement, partner acrobatics and balance form one shared language.
Review
Four people walking through doors continuously – then they walk across the added challenge of a giant revolving platform! The four performers are adept at acrobatic skills as well as a form of physical movement choreographed to build from zero to ten over the course of the hour. A giant grey set, giant for the fringe, sits centre stage with several white doors on two levels. At first, smoothly walking, walking everywhere and then through each door, the ensemble never slows down or quickens – yet maintains the precision of flow in their pace. One question we may ponder, is who are these four characters and what might be their relationship? Do they happen to live on the same street or do they get to know each other walking?
As the choreography becomes more complex, with leaning and jumping on and off each other, they change costumes and keep the flowing pace. They do body contact moves with each other and several duo sequences perhaps showing that they are keen to welcome the other into their own space – through their door! More intricate timing and levels are introduced as they jump off the walls and higher doors – and another costume change! They continue to the fourth costume change where the movement and acrobatics are more challenging – now on a huge revolving set that spins and spins in front of us for amost fifteen minutes – and may cause one dizziness just watching! The ensemble handle this intriguing spinning apparatus with aplomb – and eventually notice us. Neutral facial expressions are held consistently throughout the piece with minor changes. While this may seem a clinical choice, it is interesting to see the handful of times they are choreographed to acknowledge the audience with a look of their eyes and perhaps a smile.
Their acro moves are creative and they find interesting ways to descend from heights, such as sliding down each other’s backs and how they run up the walls! The company Circumstances from Belgium has created an intriguing show with skill and precision that builds well. EXIT was very well received by the audience at the performance I attended. The hour long show is evidence of the ensemble’s physical strength and coordination doing acrobatic moves with a contemporary mindset.
