'Memorable' performance features 'feast of wickedly strange episodes'
Panoptikum - Lenka Vagnerova & Co
Zoo Southside
*****
FRINGE 2014 was the last time we saw Lenka Vagnerova and her company onstage in Edinburgh. She has now returned with a piece that epitomises her ability to create visually striking work that lingers in your imagination long after she and her dancers are back in the Czech Republic.
Panoptikum is a feast of wickedly strange episodes that conjure up the sideshow freaks of times gone by. Conjoined twins - pretty little misses and comedical brothers - with a bearded lady and performing seals part of the mix that parades before us.
There are wonderfully bewildering magic tricks galore, bizarre illusions and white-face figures clowning around, funny and yet sinister.
Almost without us noticing at first - because the fast-moving cavalcade of surprises is so diverting- is how Vagnerova's concept and choreography is luring us towards uncanny parallels with our own present day.
We chuckle at how the Master of Ceremonies invites curious passers-by to gawp at the exhibits - real people with malformed physiques, some of them, along with scary hybrids that are cunningly-contrived fakes.
The paying public demands to be shocked and amused - if there's a bit of dicing with death, then even better! And then it dawns… modern audiences are no different.
TV reality shows with everyday folks being humiliated - bring them on. On-screen violence? Celebrity scandals? Sound familiar ?
Bit by bit, Panoptikum asks what the true cost of such 'entertainment' really is for the artists involved. What is it they're forced into selling in order to survive?
It edges towards the dark side, but Vangnerova and her eight superbly versatile performers know the abiding value of art that comes sincerely from the heart.
Panoptikum is a memorable example of that at its finest. Catch it if you can, at Zoo Southside (until Aug 10).
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The Herald Scotland
14 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
'Memorable' performance features 'feast of wickedly strange episodes'
Fringe Dance Panoptikum - Lenka Vagnerova & Co Zoo Southside ***** FRINGE 2014 was the last time we saw Lenka Vagnerova and her company onstage in Edinburgh. She has now returned with a piece that epitomises her ability to create visually striking work that lingers in your imagination long after she and her dancers are back in the Czech Republic. Panoptikum is a feast of wickedly strange episodes that conjure up the sideshow freaks of times gone by. Conjoined twins - pretty little misses and comedical brothers - with a bearded lady and performing seals part of the mix that parades before us. There are wonderfully bewildering magic tricks galore, bizarre illusions and white-face figures clowning around, funny and yet sinister. Almost without us noticing at first - because the fast-moving cavalcade of surprises is so diverting- is how Vagnerova's concept and choreography is luring us towards uncanny parallels with our own present day. We chuckle at how the Master of Ceremonies invites curious passers-by to gawp at the exhibits - real people with malformed physiques, some of them, along with scary hybrids that are cunningly-contrived fakes. The paying public demands to be shocked and amused - if there's a bit of dicing with death, then even better! And then it dawns… modern audiences are no different. TV reality shows with everyday folks being humiliated - bring them on. On-screen violence? Celebrity scandals? Sound familiar ? Bit by bit, Panoptikum asks what the true cost of such 'entertainment' really is for the artists involved. What is it they're forced into selling in order to survive? It edges towards the dark side, but Vangnerova and her eight superbly versatile performers know the abiding value of art that comes sincerely from the heart. Panoptikum is a memorable example of that at its finest. Catch it if you can, at Zoo Southside (until Aug 10).
Daily Mirror
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