Panoptikum / Lenka Vagnerová & Company (CZ)

"Never give up. And that's regardless of how bad a situation you can get into."

Premiere: 7.12.2019 / Komedie Theatre, Prague

Panoptikums (Freakshows) were traveling companies moving from town to town and exhibiting curious objects, skills, and above all - people called "unique individuals". At the time when Freak shows were at its greatest glory, it was the only possible refuge for people that society had rejected for fear of unknown and different. Exhibiting those who had nowhere to go was a powerful source of income for their owner (i.e. impresario).

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There were thousands of people, seeking this kind of entertainment, queuing in front of the panoptical coffers, waiting to be amused and shocked by other human destinies. Humiliated "creatures" without any hopes for dreams or a different fate were often the ones who desired to live a normal lifes. Despite this fact they were proud and courageous, loving, and filled with dreams about their future.

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Panoptikum is based on many real stories and characters. It points out the parallel with today, asking the question of human treatment of others.: What if the glorious show starts to lack the attractivity and wandering to distant locations brings fewer profits and more uninterested audience? What if the performer (good example is an athlete) is no longer the subject of profitable business, becomes a burden, and needs to be ridden of? In what situations does the human soul lose value to another person and when does one retain dignity and generosity without a sign of cynicism or resentment, or a sense of injustice towards the cruel surroundings?

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CREDITS:

Concept, choreography, direction: Lenka Vagnerová

Dramaturgy: Lenka Vagnerová
Music: Ivan Acher

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Performed by: Andrea Opavská / Jana Hampl Maroušková / Mattilde Giacomelli, Monika Částková / Anežka Hrabánková, Vanda Šípová, Fanny Barrouquére / Zuzana Veselá / Leonard Vo Tan, Tereza Holubová / Michaela Kadlčíková, Alex Sadirov / Lukas Lizama Garrido, Adam Sojka / Vahe Akopjan, Leo Terris

(Michal Heiban, Patrik Čermák, Filip Martinský)

Scenography: Jakub Kopecký
Costumes: Simona Rybáková, Jakub Kopecký

Illusions dramaturgy: Jiří Marek

Light design: Michal Kříž

Sound: Petr Taclík

Producer: Lenka Vagnerová & Company
Coproduction: Městská divadla pražská

Project supported by: Capital City of Prague, Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

Supported by: Eisfabrik e.V.

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Photo: Michal Hančovský
Thanks to: Vladimír Javorský

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