An immersive walk- through performance: A Labyrinth of Secret Stories

April 17th. 2025

I was greeted at the Goethe Institute by a human at the front counter of the entrance to the building. She passed me my ticket as I entered into a dreary, dimly lit hallway. I’m new here and I had no idea what to expect. It was my first time witnessing a full production, multi-disciplinary art piece in Thessaloniki — a city masked as a labyrinth in itself. In a group of about twenty people, I anxiously awaited for whatever was to begin, to begin. No stage, no seats, just anticipation for the unexpected.

The proceeding series of vignettes captivated me so much that it’s hard for me to say exactly how I arrived into the space where the performance began. The essence of that feeling became an underlying theme throughout the entire duration of Spiegel.

With a non-proscenium setting, the artistic group Die Wolke shared an intimate evening full of disillusioned memories, human interactions, and detailed imagery through the use of video projections, mapping, sound design & movement across three unique spaces. Ending the performance with a natural procession — the audience was invited to leave the space unexpectedly, spit out abruptly to the outside of the Goethe Institute building, senses adjusting accordingly. Symbolically parallel to that of a dream: awakened in the morning — and it’s over. You’re left with confusion and a disarray of scattered thoughts. You don’t remember how you fell asleep, but now you’re awake. Your human impulse tries desperately to process last night’s most enchanting hours by constructing a plot and connecting the short stories and discombobulated images. Vignettes so deep in your subconscious they’re not meant to be logically analyzed or connected — just meant to be experienced.

That was Spiegel.

Dramaturgical details were so meticulously woven together that I often found myself wondering — how did I get here? What just happened? What’s happening over there — on the other side of the room?

Although a clear path for the audience was given — governed by performers and the set to create a natural flow — there was still the possibility of movement. The freedom to relocate through the space allowed the audience to select which vignettes they wanted to focus on. In the midst of all of this, I saw dance. I saw movement, bodies, muscles — curves, lines, changes in dynamics… beauty that could be perceived as both dark and mystical. Led by choreographer and performer Drosia Triantaki.

The well-crafted and detail-oriented immersive dance theater work incorporated digital media — videos, double projections, and layered effects through mirrors (hence the title, auf Deutsch) — to create a captivating, dreamy world where the audience felt stuck between reality and an alternate dimension. Think DARK meets David Lynch, with a splash of Pina Bausch to bring live movement through dance.

The performance activated my nostalgia for a hall of mirrors installation, like those often seen in “popular” museums or fun houses from the early 90's. Projections and mapping pro, Dani Joss collaborated with material from photographer Elias Georgiadis to create infinite reflections and optical illusions. A surreal atmosphere, like a Dalí painting.

A feather hanging from the ceiling. A light projecting on a prism dangling in mid-air. A woman appears, donning an oversized cloak reminiscent of wardrobes from the ever-popularized book-turned-Netflix-series, The Handmaid’s Tale. A man waiting for a train, a suitcase in his hand, a top hat on his head. A moving walkway — making it hard to tell whether the performer was arriving or departing. Rain falling down the side of a video-projected window…

I knew nothing about the book* that influenced the work, Spiegel, so I let my imagination do the work for me as I walked through the multi-sensory experience.

It was pure art, a labyrinth of nostalgia and non-sensical daydreaming. Somewhere between memory and movement, Die Spiegel left its mark — not to be understood, but felt.

-Angela Fegers

Learn more about Die Wolke

Full Credits:

Choreography: Drosia Triantaki

Performance: Danae Christakakou, Vassiana Skopetea, Giorgis Panopoulos, Eleftheria Skoulakis Lazou, Drosia Triantaki

Music: Dani Joss, George Cholopoulos

Visuals, mapping, direction: Dani Joss

Photography: Elias Georgiadis

Set design, electronics: Ioannis Perisoratis

Constructions: Ioannis Perisoratis, Baptiste van Pinxteren

Recorded by musicians: Io Le Moller, Alexandros Louloudis

The performance “Mirror” / “Spiegel” / “Mirror” is performed with the financial support and under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the Goethe Institut Thessaloniki

*Michael Ende ’s book “The Mirror in the Mirror: a Labyrinth” [“Der Spiegel im Spiegel: ein Labyrinth”]