London International Mime Festival 2012 by mimelondon

m me LONDON

london international mime festival 2012 contemporary visual theatre 11 > 29 january

‘For years the London International Mime Festival has been turning gloomy January into a positive minefield of unpredictability, and when better than the start of a year to go to the theatre asking not to see the expected.’ Daily Telegraph

HELP WITH CHOOSING

Start your new year with some of the most thoughtprovoking and unusual theatre from around the world.

Shows using masks Kulunka Teatro Theatre Ad Infinitum

London International Mime Festival (LIMF) champions contemporary visual theatre and this year features artists from Australia, Belgium, France, Japan, Spain and Switzerland alongside some outstanding British companies. There’s a story told entirely by pictures emerging from a briefcase, and a juggling masterpiece inspired by Pina Bausch. From Wales, NoFit State brings circus and theatre together in a Picasso-blue-hued show directed by Mladen Materic, and Camille Boitel’s Compagnie L’Immédiat will surprise you with a tumultuous visual reflection on the mayhem of modern times. LIMF 2012 is nineteen days and nights of cutting edge circus, magic, mime, mask and object theatre; universally accessible, mostly wordless, packed with premieres, after-show discussions and learning opportunities. Welcome to the unexpected! We thank all our artists, venue colleagues, collaborators and supporters for their contributions to the festival. LIMF is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation and gratefully acknowledges ACE financial assistance. Joseph Seelig and Helen Lannaghan, Festival Directors

Shows using puppetry/animation Blind Summit Fleur Elise Noble Invisible Thread Tête de Pioche

Shows using circus skills Baccala Clowns Cie L’Immédiat / Camille Boitel Claudio Stellato Gandini Juggling NoFit State Circus Sugar Beast Circus Toron Blues Shows using new technology Fleur Elise Noble Hiroaki Umeda Sugar Beast Circus Family-friendly shows Baccala Clowns 5+ Cie L’Immédiat 8+ Claudio Stellato 6+ Fleur Elise Noble 8+ Gandini Juggling 7+ NoFit State Circus 7+ Tête de Pioche 7+

Visit our website for online booking and to see video extracts of this year’s shows:

www.mimelondon.com Please arrive in good time for the shows - latecomers may not be admitted Cover photo: NoFit State Circus This page: Hiroaki Umeda

12+/Parental Guidance Autour du Mime Blind Summit Hiroaki Umeda Invisible Thread (14+) Kulunka Teatro Sugar Beast Circus Theatre Ad Infinitum Toron Blues Shows for people with hearing impairment All shows are suitable, except Blind Summit, for which there will be a BSL interpreted performance on Monday 16 January. Meet the artists The free after show discussions with the artists are very popular, so book early for that performance. The date is given on each Company’s page, and also indicated on the back cover calendar.

PREVIEW 10 JAN

Time Out

BLIND SUM M I T T HE TABLE

‘Absolutely sublime, the best thing this excellent company has ever done’

S O H O THEATRE WE D 1 1 > SAT 21 JAN

‘Remarkable... with considerable wit, Blind Summit once again prove that when you are working in miniature, you don’t have to think small’

LONDON PREMIERE

LIMF 2012 opens with the new show from the innovators who created memorable puppetry for Anthony Minghella’s award-winning Madam Butterfly, Simon McBurney’s A Dog’s Heart and their own sellout hits, 1984 and Low Life. The Table comes to London after a critically acclaimed and sold out run in Edinburgh, where it won a coveted Fringe First award.

The Guardian

Join Blind Summit on a journey that takes in a ballet of disembodied heads, a story told entirely by pictures emerging from a briefcase, and a tiny Moses with a cardboard head full of lonely wisdom. The Table features beautiful, threeperson operated figures, dark humour and flat pack technology. No man is an island… but sometimes a puppet can be a table.

SOHO THEATRE

Performers: Nick Barnes, Sarah Calver, Mark Down, Sean Garratt, (Ivan Thorley) Suitable for 12 years + Wed 11 > Sat 21 Jan (Preview 10 Jan) (no performance Sun 15) 7.30pm, plus Thu & Sat 3pm mats After-show Discussion, and BSL interpreted performance by Jacqui Beckford: Mon 16 Jan Runs 70 mins / no interval Book online via mimelondon.com £10 - £20 Tickets: 020 7478 0100

Sat 28 Jan Blind Summit Workshop see pages 34-37 Supported by Jacksons Lane Commissioned by YAD ARTS and JCC

BAC CALA C L O W N S P SS PSS

‘Virtuosic, exhilarating and poetic Pss Pss evokes the atmosphere of an earlier time. A delight, not to be missed’ La Sicilia

SW I TZ ER LA N D

S O U T H BANK CENTRE’S PURCELL ROO M S AT 1 4 > MON 16 JAN

UK PREMIERE

Camilla Pessi and Simone Fassari met at the famous Dimitri Theatre School in Verscio, Switzerland, going on separately to work in cabarets and circuses all over the world. In 2004 they decided to work together, devising routines that won awards at many circus festivals, including Cirque de Demain in Paris, the Moscow Circus Festival and the Wuquao Festival in China. Created in 2010, and directed by circustheatre specialist, Louis Spagna, Pss Pss brings together some of their most acclaimed numbers in a show that has proved a hit with audiences wherever it has played. Pss Pss blends the best of classic and modern clown techniques with personality, charm and consummate physical skills.

Suitable for 5 years +

Sat 14 > Mon 16 Jan Sat & Mon 7.45pm, Sun 4pm After-show Discussion: Sat 14 Jan Runs 60 mins / no interval Book online via mimelondon.com £15 Tickets: 0844 847 9910

Presented in association with Southbank Centre

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Sixty minutes of pure enjoyment from two of today’s most engaging young circus artists.

FR A N C E

S O U T H BANK CENTRE’S PURCELL ROO M T U E 1 7 > WED 1 8 JAN

AUTOUR D U M I M E T ELL ME THE T R U T H A ND OTHER STO R I E S LONDON PRE M I E R E Autour du Mime was created in 1997 by Sara Mangano and Pierre-Yves Massip, both former members of the Marcel Marceau Company and inspired by the work of Etienne Decroux and Jacques Lecoq as well as the teachings of Marceau. They make their LIMF debut with a programme that explores the art of mime in various contemporary forms. Taking as its starting point a poem by Jacques Prévert (writer of one of the most famous films in cinema history, Les Enfants du Paradis) the title work is Tell Me the Truth (Dis-moi la Vérité) portraying a couple’s dysfunctional relationship. Both stand their ground and feel themselves in the right. Who is the victim and who is the executioner? This piece was an award-winner at the 2011 BE Festival in Birmingham.

Tue 17 > Wed 18 Jan 7.45pm After-show Discussion: Wed 18 Jan Runs 65 mins / no interval Book online via mimelondon.com £15 Tickets: 0844 847 9910 Sun 15 Jan Autour du Mime Workshop see pages 34-37

‘Superb storytellers... charming and very funny - like a silent movie brought to life’

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Suitable for 12 years +

thepublicreviews.com

Presented in association with Southbank Centre This visit to London is supported by Institut français

‘Superb. Absolutely must be seen’ La Depeche

FR A N C E

S O U T H BANK CENTRE’S PURCELL ROO M T H U 1 9 > SUN 2 2 JAN

T ORON BL U E S T ENDRE SUIE

UK PREMIERE

Two women - they could be sisters, lovers or shadows. Your imagination will decide. Hanging centre stage like a lightening conductor, a rope. On and around it their story unfolds, without a word, passionate, fierce and disturbing. Inspired by Jean-Paul Sartre’s drama, Huis Clos, a place from which there is no exit, where ‘hell is other people’. Unusual, bold and completely involving, Tendre Suie has toured extensively in Europe and South America. Clémentine Lamouret and Sandrine Duquesne trained at the French National Circus School in Chalons-en-Champagne, where they both specialized in rope and aerial work. Premiered in 2010, Tendre Suie is their second production.

Thu 19 > Sun 22 Jan Thu-Sat 7.45pm, Sun 4pm After-show Discussion: Sat 21 Jan Runs 50 mins / no interval Book online via mimelondon.com £15 Tickets: 0844 847 9910

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Suitable for 12 years + Contains nudity

Presented in association with Southbank Centre Coproduction: Et Vous Trouvez ça Drôle, Lomme; Cirk’éole, Montigny-Lès-Metz; Université Paul Valéry, Section Théâtre et Spectacle vivant (Philippe Goudard-Montpellier). This visit to London is supported by Institut français

U K / FR A N C E

S O U T H BANK CENTRE’S QUEEN ELIZAB E T H H A L L F R I 2 0 > SUN 22 JAN

NOFIT STAT E C I R C U S MUND O PARALE L O

LONDON PREMIERE

Directed by Mladen Materic (Théâtre Tattoo, Toulouse)

Following its hugely successful Tabú, Wales’ internationally acclaimed NoFit State Circus leaves its Big Top behind with this new production especially made for proscenium stages as part of National Theatre Wales’ first year. Mundo Paralelo brings circus and theatre together in a Picasso-blue-hued show, created with Serbianborn director Mladen Materic. As acrobatic performers move from dollhouse streets to life-size rooftop platforms we are drawn into micro worlds of dreams, hopes and memories. Interwoven stories unfold with swooping aerial moves and gravity defying skills. With its company of home grown and overseas’ artists and mission ‘to be the circus everyone wants to join’ NoFit State is leading the renaissance of contemporary circus in the UK.

‘….ravishing acts, sensual and impossibly dextrous’ The Guardian

‘This is grown up yet ever playful circus set to an inventive vaudeville music hall meets Gogol Bordello madhouse soundtrack’

Suitable for 7 years + Fri 20 > Sun 22 Jan Fri 7.30pm/Sat 3pm & 7.30pm/Sun 3pm After-show Discussion: Sat 21 Jan (after 3pm performance) Runs 2 hours / inc interval Book online via mimelondon.com £15/£17.50/£20 Tel: 0844 847 9910

The Stage

Presented in association with Southbank Centre

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Mladen Materic founded Tattoo Theatre in former Yugoslavia in the 1980s, moving it to Toulouse in 1992. His production Pourquoi la Cuisine, devised with Peter Handke, featured in the 2002 Edinburgh International Festival.

Mundo Paralelo is a NoFit State, National Theatre Wales, Théâtre Tattoo production created with the support of The Torch Theatre and Senarts. This visit to London is supported by Institut français

B ELG I U M

S O U T H BANK CENTRE’S PURCELL ROO M MO N 23 > WED 25 JAN

CLAUDIO S T E L L AT O L’ AUTRE

UK PREMIERE

Claudio Stellato manipulates objects, perspective and his own physical form. He’s an acrobat-dancer and magician, playing with our perceptions, folding himself into four, creating a mysterious world of illusion. You think of images by Magritte or de Chirico. As space and time are bent there is logic we cannot grasp, every action seems implausible and we are deceived. Yet everything we see is real.

‘Combining acrobatics, circus and magic, this is an astonishing work. It takes your breath away’ L’Union

L’Autre (The Other) is the alter ego we carry inside us, oblivious to rules and reason, free to act on impulse. The result of three years research into the relationship between body and objects, this remarkable performance premiered in Brussels in 2011. Born in Milan and now based in Brussels, Claudio Stellato studied music before training in circus at the Lido School in Toulouse. Since 2007 he has worked with Belgian choreographer Karen Ponties’ Dame de Pic company and Cabaret Crida amongst other projects. Performers: Claudio Stellato and Martin Firket

Mon 23 > Wed 25 Jan 7.45pm After-show Discussion: Tue 24 Jan Runs 50 mins / no interval Book online via mimelondon.com £15 Tickets: 0844 847 9910 Presented in association with Southbank Centre

Production: Fangule. Co-production: Les Brigittines-Centre d’Art Contemporain du Mouvement et de la Voix de la ville de Bruxelles; Noorderzon Performing Arts Festival/Grand Theatre Groningen; De Pianofabriek Kunstenwerkplaats; TAKT Dommelhof; le manege. mons/CECN, TechnocITé, l’échangeur - scène conventionnée de Fère-en-Tardenois. Supported by Ministère de la Communauté française - Service de la Danse; Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques (SACD); CDC Les Hivernales and Le Théâtre des Dôms. Claudio Stellato is artist in residence at L’L a workplace for young performing artists. This visit to London is supported by Wallonie-Bruxelles International and Wallonie-Bruxelles Théâtre Danse

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Suitable for 6 years +

‘Filled with tenderness, nostalgia and love, it provoked deeply felt emotions. It was hard to keep back tears’ El Mundo

KULUNKA T E AT R O

‘Impressive and endearing... it’s easy to see how André & Dorine win audiences’ Total Theatre

A NDRÉ AND DO R I N E

S PA I N

S O U T H BANK CENTRE’S PURCELL ROO M T H U 2 6 > SUN 2 9 JAN

LONDON PREMIERE

André and Dorine are an elderly couple, gently decaying from routine and neglect. But the monotony is about to be broken, by illness. Alzheimer’s is our greatest antagonist, devourer of memories, and of identity itself. André and Dorine need to remember who they were so as not to forget who they are. Like Germany’s acclaimed Familie Floez, Kulunka Teatro has created a piece of thoroughly contemporary and committed mask theatre that transcends language barriers. Uplifting and thought provoking and based on a true story, it explores important themes with warmth and humour.

Performers: Eduardo Carcamo, Jose Dault, Garbine Insausti Suitable for 12 years +

Thu 26 > Sun 29 Jan Thu-Sat 7.45pm, Sun 4pm After-show Discussion: Fri 27 Jan Runs 65 mins / no interval Book online via mimelondon.com £15 Tickets: 0844 847 9910 Presented in association with Southbank Centre

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

André and Dorine has toured extensively in Spain, and South America, and goes to New York and Los Angeles after these performances at the Mime Festival. It was an award winner at the Birmingham European Theatre Festival in 2011.

JAPAN

L I N B U RY STUDIO THEATRE, ROYAL OP E R A H O U S E MO N 16 > TUE 17 JAN

HIROAKI U M E D A / S 2 0 H APTIC + HOLI S T I C S T R ATA

U K P R EMIERE

Tokyo-based multidisciplinary artist Hiroaki Umeda is a performer, sound artist and lighting designer whose work is both sublime and violent, and very much in touch with his contemporary Japanese roots. Combining street dance and butoh, in the spectacular and high tension Holistic Strata he appears almost to dissolve in a hurricane of digital images, while in Haptic beautiful bright hues shift and morph in relation to his fluid movements creating an exquisite visual and sonic experience. These are works to be felt and experienced more than simply watched. Both pieces contain loud music and strobe lighting Suitable for 12 years +

For Haptic: Production-S20. Co-production-Théâtre de Nimes; Festival d’Automne, Paris For Holistic Strata: Commissioned by YCAM (Yamaguchi Centre for Arts and Media); Co-developed with YCAM Interlab Associate production: Quaternaire-Sarah Ford. Hiroaki Umeda/S20 is supported by EU Japan Fest

New York Times

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

Mon 16 Jan > Tue 17 Jan 7.45pm After-show Discussion: Mon 16 Jan Runs 60 mins / plus interval Book online via mimelondon.com £11.50/£13.50/£16.50/ £7 standing/£8.50 students Tickets: 020 7304 4000

‘Like a tin man with oil flowing freely through his veins, Umeda mirrored the pulsating score with an accumulation of motion’

L I N B U RY STUDIO THEATRE, ROYAL OP E R A H O U S E WE D 1 8 > SAT 21 JAN

GANDINI J U G G L I N G S M A S HED

LONDON PREMIERE

Smashed is a sensational mix of skill and theatricality inspired by the work of seminal German dance-theatre maker, Pina Bausch. Nine extraordinary performers, eighty apples and crockery galore combine in a series of nostalgic filmic scenes, hinting at conflict and tense relationships, lost love and the quaintness of afternoon tea. A darkly humorous journey with a cathartic finale you will long remember. Smashed was originally commissioned by the National Theatre as a short, outdoor performance piece for its Watch This Space festival in July 2010, This new, full-length version receives its premiere at the Mime Festival.

‘The Gandinis are world leaders in pushing the fine art of juggling to new creative levels’ National Theatre/Watch This Space

Performers: Sean Gandini, Kati Ylä-Hokkala, Sakari Männistö, Owen Reynolds, Iñaki Sastre, Niels Siedel, Malte Steinmetz, Jon Udry, Cecilia Zucchetti

ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

Suitable for 7 years + Wed 18 > Sat 21 Jan 7.45pm After-show Discussion: Thu 19 Jan Runs 55 mins / no interval Book online via mimelondon.com £11.50/£13.50/£16.50/ £7 standing/£8.50 students Tickets: 020 7304 4000

Co-production: National Theatre/Watch This Space, London; La Brèche, Cherbourg

THEATRE A D I N F I N I T U M

‘An extraordinary performance. Translunar Paradise so moved me (and plenty of others in the oft-sniffling audience) because of its uniquely devastating method, prompting thoughts about bereavement, never cheapening its subject by attempting to describe the indescribable’

T RANSLUNAR PA R A D I S E

Observer

LONDON PRE M I E R E

‘Extraordinarily poignant… beautifully performed… packs a real emotional punch’

Translunar Paradise is a story about life, death, and enduring love. After his wife passes away, William escapes to a paradise of fantasy and past memories, a place far from the reality of his grief. Returning from beyond the grave, Rose revisits her widowed companion to perform one last act of love: to help him let go. Told only through gesture and using a live accordion accompaniment, this exquisite piece of mask and movement theatre enjoyed a critically acclaimed sellout season at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

B A R B I CAN, THE PIT T U E 1 7 > SAT 21 JAN

The Guardian

Theatre Ad Infinitum is an award-winning international ensemble based in London, developing new and original theatre for a multi-cultural audience. Performers: Kim Heron (accordion), George Mann, Deborah Pugh Suitable for 12 years +

BARBICAN

Tue 17 > Sat 21 Jan 7.45pm After-show Discussion: Thu 19 Jan Runs 70 mins / no interval £16 Book online via mimelondon.com Tickets: 0845 121 6839 Sat 21 > Sun 22 Jan Theatre Ad Infinitum Workshop see pages 34-37 Presented in association with the Barbican Co-production: Developed with The Lowry, Salford Quays; Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham; Redbridge Drama Centre, London; The Ustinov Studio Theatre, Theatre Royal Bath. Supported by Arts Council England; BE Festival, Birmingham; Rose Bruford College, Sidcup; Pleasance Theatre Edinburgh and PULSE Festival & New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich

COMPAGN I E L’ I M M É D I AT / CAMILLE B O I T E L L’ IMMÉDIAT

FRAN CE

‘They survive life’s chaos with warmth and wit. Astonishing’

B A R B I CAN THEATRE WE D 1 8 > SAT 21 JAN

Le Point

‘Incredible and total mastery’ L’Express

UK PREMIERE

L’Immédiat is here and now. On a stage crammed with machinery, objects, junk and bric a brac of every kind, L’Immédiat is Camille Boitel’s tumultuous, visual commentary on the uncertainty and mayhem of modern times. In sixty minutes of beautifully orchestrated circus-theatre chaos, seven young acrobat-adventurers defy a tsunami of unstable forces that threatens to engulf them, with optimism, dark humour and breathtaking physical skills. Camille Boitel trained at Annie Fratellini’s circus school in Paris. In 2002 he was a winner at the first Jeunes Talents Cirque, Europe’s most prestigious new circus awards. He was an original member of James Thiérrée’s Junebug Symphony Company and made his debut at the Mime Festival with a remarkable solo, L’Homme d’Hus in 2005. Created in 2007, L’Immédiat has toured throughout Europe and was awarded the Prix Mimos in 2010.

Suitable for 8 years +

Wed 18 > Sat 21 Jan 7.45pm After-show Discussion: Fri 20 Jan Runs 60 mins / no interval Book online via mimelondon.com £16 - £28 Tickets: 0845 121 6839

BARBICAN

Performers: Marine Broise, Aldo Thomas, Pascal le Corre, Camille Boitel, Thomas Debroissia, Marion Lefebvre, Jacques Benoit Dardant

Presented in association with the Barbican Production: Cie La Mere Boitel. Co-production: Le Merlan, scène nationale à Marseille; Théâtre de la Cité internationale, Le Manège, scène nationale de Reims. This visit to London is supported by Institut français

‘An essay on creativity, control and ways of seeing, witty and technically deft’ RealTime Magazine

FLEUR ELISE NOBLE 2 DIMENSIONA L L I F E O F H E R LONDON PRE M I E R E Set in an artist’s studio, 2 Dimensional Life of Her is a performance made of drawing, animation, puppetry, projection and paper. It conjures a rich, alternative universe where images reproduce themselves, drift between surfaces and move in and out of three dimensions. At the centre of this work of light and shadows, you’ll be immersed in a kaleidoscope of floor-to-ceiling projections, mesmerising animations, and walls that simply peel away.

Suitable for 8 years +

Tue 24 > Sat 28 Jan 7.45pm After-show Discussion: Thu 26 Jan Runs 40 mins / no interval £14 Book online via mimelondon.com Tickets: 0845 121 6839

Adelaide Advertiser

‘Brilliant, provocative, stunning…’ Glasgow Herald

BARBICAN

First seen in the UK at New Territories in Glasgow, Fleur Elise Noble’s performance / video show has played at festivals in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and mainland Europe.

‘An Andy Warhol for a new generation’

AUSTRALIA

B A R B I CAN, THE PIT T U E 2 4 > SAT 28 JAN

Presented in association with the Barbican

I NVISIBLE T H R E A D

‘For 20 years she [Liz Walker] has explored the art form’s nightmare limits, with surreal dramas about puppets in crisis that have been likened to the works of David Lynch and Samuel Becket’

R O U N DHOUSE STUDIO THEATRE T U E 1 7 > SUN 22 JAN

Independent on Sunday

P LUCKED Pull from your loins a nest of twigs, beware the wolfman and the raven too! Drawing on images and themes from life and myth and using live video-feed painting, object theatre, puppetry and animation, Plucked follows a journey from beauty to beast and beyond, exploring the frailties and complexities of being human. Invisible Thread is the new company established by Liz Walker, co-founder and joint artistic director of Faulty Optic. Inhabiting the same world of cronky mechanical sets and strange animated figures as its famous predecessor which toured the world for twenty years, Plucked is a fairy tale for adults, scary and haunting, funny and tragic.

ROUNDHOUSE

Escape normality and suspend disbelief as you enter the magical world of surreal adult puppetry. Performers: Dana Amos, Simon Kerrigan, Liz Walker Contains bawdy humour Suitable for 14 years + Tue 17 > Sun 22 Jan Tue-Sat 8pm, Sun 6pm After-show Discussion: Tue 17 Jan Runs 90 mins / inc interval Book online via mimelondon.com £14.50 (£12.50 concessions) Tickets: 0844 482 8008

Sat 21 Jan Invisible Thread Workshop see pages 34-37

‘Intriguing and magical’ Les Inrockuptibles

FRAN CE

R O U N DHOUSE STUDIO THEATRE T U E 2 4, WED 25, FRI 27, SAT 28 JA N

T HÉÂTRE T Ê T E D E P I O C H E F RAGMENTS DE V I E

UK PREMIERE

Step back to a time before supermarkets and industrialisation. Théâtre Tête de Pioche’s performance/ installation is a cabinet of curiosities, an atmospheric journey in nine stages conjuring sights and sounds of an almost vanished rural world. The vital elements are fire, water, earth, wood and metal; nature’s cycles determine every aspect of daily life. A world now only remembered in paintings, old photographs and folk consciousness comes to life in this beautiful miniature. Award-winning object theatre from a young Anglo-French company, founded in 2009 by former director of the renowned Mirepoix Puppetry Festival, Christine Saint-André. Performers: Jo Smith, Mathilde Henry Suitable for 7 years +

ROUNDHOUSE

Tue 24, Wed 25, Fri 27, Sat 28 Jan Tue, Wed, Fri 7pm & 8.30pm Sat 3pm, 4.30pm, 6pm, 8.30pm After-show Discussion: Wed 25 Jan (after 8.30pm performance) Runs 45 mins / no interval Book online via mimelondon.com £14.50 (£12.50 concessions) Tickets: 0844 482 8008 Limited seating capacity - early booking recommended This visit to London is supported by Institut français

J A C K S ONS LANE F R I 2 7 > SUN 29 JAN

S UGAR BE A S T C I R C U S { EVENT(DIMEN S I O N ) : }

UK PREMIERE

In this new show by Geneva Foster-Gluck’s Sugar Beast Circus, a fascination with one of the most beautiful scientific experiments leads circus athletes and audience into the world of quantum mechanics. Reminiscent of kitsch Sci-Fi films and analogue computer graphics, {Event(Dimension):} calls upon our instinctual understanding of reality to question the role of the observer and the nature of time. Sugar Beast Circus has been recognised internationally for its distinct aesthetic and conceptual approach to contemporary circus. It represents a new generation whose work combines fine art, abstract narrative and physical skills to create an exciting new form of storytelling. Suitable for 12 years +

Book online via mimelondon.com £14.95 (£12.95 concessions) Tickets: 020 8341 4421 Supported by Arts Council England and in residency at La Brèche, new circus arts centre | Cherbourg-Octeville and Circus Futures Produced by McMc Arts.

‘The show as a whole is an interesting concept that crosses genres like a shortsighted jaywalker and I’m looking forward to where Ms Foster-Gluck takes this concept next’

JACKSONS LANE

Fri 27 > Sun 29 Jan Fri & Sat 8pm, Sun 6pm Runs 60 mins (including 10 min interval/changeover of audiences)

The Londonist (on Milkwood Rodeo)

WORKSHO P S THE STATE OF CLOWN OR THE CLOWN’S INTELLIGENCE

Led by Angela de Castro Dates: Mon 9 > Fri 13 Jan, 09.30 > 18.30 Venue : People Show Studios, Pollard Row, Bethnal Green, London E2 6NB Fee: £260 Bookings: whynotinstitute@aol.com

A GRAPHIC EYE

Led by Iain Lanyon Sat 14 Jan, 10:30 > 15:30 Central School of Speech & Drama Eton Avenue, London NW3 3HY £25 Bookings: workshops@mimelondon.com A one day workshop to revolutionise the way you communicate, rethink your Company’s graphic identity, or just look at the world in a different way. Bring a small camera if you can and some graphics you want to share. Suitable for ages 16

THE THEATRICAL BODY

Led by Autour du Mime Sun 15 Jan, 10:30 > 15:30 Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX £25 Bookings: 0844 847 9910 A one-day mime workshop, exploring ways to create a powerful, physical language, using the body only. Sara Mangano and Pierre-Yves Massip both studied with Marcel Marceau, subsequently becoming members of his performing company. They have taught throughout Europe, passing on original ideas and techniques inspired by the work of three celebrated French masters, Marcel Marceau, Etienne Decroux and Jacques Lecoq. Their workshop seeks to discover the full range of body expressivity, nuances of movement and dramatic gesture. Ages 18+. Suitable for theatre, dance and circus school students and professionals. Participants should wear clothes suitable for movement-based work.

PUPPET MANIPULATION

Led by Liz Walker from Invisible Thread Sat 21 Jan 10:30 > 16:00 Central School of Speech & Drama Eton Avenue, London NW3 3HY £45 Bookings: workshops@mimelondon.com

WORKSHOPS

A regular LIMF highlight in recent years, The State of Clown is a unique workshop, a full time, full-on course exploring the state of clown - an intense, inspiring, challenging and transformatory journey, with laughs and play along the way. For Angela de Castro, clowning is not a technique but a ‘state’. Through practical exercises and games, this energetic workshop helps you find your clown persona and experience it in this ‘state’. It gives truthfulness and depth to your clowning, embracing the tragic as much as the comic. For actors and other performers, it helps make performance more real, individual and joyful. For beginners, it is a journey of discovery. Angela de Castro is one of the most respected female clowns. She has been awarded fellowships with Nesta Dreamtime, the Arts Foundation and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She is well known for creating the Green Clown in Slava’s Snowshow. A busy touring schedule keeps Angela de Castro abroad for much of the year so this is a rare opportunity to attend her workshop in London. Early booking recommended. www.thewhynotinstitute.com

and over, aimed at professionals, theatre students, and other enthusiasts. Iain Lanyon is a graphic designer with 30 years experience of designing for the theatre, including the Mime Festival.

This workshop will concentrate on manipulation and simple improvisation, using two person puppets, materials and objects. Suitable for ages 18 and over, aimed at professionals, theatre and puppetry students, and enthusiasts who wish to explore puppetry and gain more confidence in techniques, play and observation.

Blind Summit

WORKSHO P S THE STORYTELLING BODY

Led by Theatre Ad Infinitum Sat 21 > Sun 22 Jan 10.30 > 16.30 Barbican, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS £50 (for the two days, to include show ] ticket for Translunar Paradise on Sat eve) Bookings: 020 7382 7297 This is a unique opportunity to dive headfirst into a productive theatrical environment that explores storytelling via a Lecoq-style method that will push the physical limits of the actor as a creative theatre maker. The workshop will explore how the actor in an empty space can bring to life an abundant world of characters, spaces, colours, emotions and ‘atmospheres’ with the body alone. Together we will search for each performer’s specific and individual storytelling style, and gestural language. In the final part of the weekend participants will create a short devised solo piece for performance. It encompasses all of the mime-style work used in our productions, but especially in Translunar’s flashbacks, and it’s about uncovering each individuals gestural language (we all have one, believe it or not) and harnessing it in a theatrical way through storytelling -the results are always fascinating, rewarding and exciting. Ages 18+. Suitable for university students, drama school students and theatre artists. Presented in association with Barbican Weekend

Led by Mark Down of Blind Summit Sat 28 Jan 10.30 > 16.30 Central School of Speech & Drama Eton Avenue, London NW3 3HY Cost: £45 Bookings: workshops@mimelondon.com Blind Summit Theatre is doing for Japanese Bunraku Puppetry what South Park did for cartoons: subverting and reinventing the art-form for modern audiences. With Blind Summit it’s not just the puppets that are manipulated. Using their skills they create highly inventive and engaging physical theatre where the actors manipulate objects, furniture, the set and each other. This one day masterclass is an opportunity

LONDON INTERNATIONAL MIME FESTIVAL 35 Little Russell Street, London WC1A 2HH +44 (0) 20 7637 5661 direction@mimelondon.com Directors: Helen Lannaghan & Joseph Seelig Production Manager: Bill Deverson Artists’ Manager: Silvia Maroino Artists’ Hosts: Annette Telesford & Dudley Hinton Discussions Facilitator: Dick McCaw Festival Archivist: Diana Damian Press Representatives: Arthur Leone PR 020 7836 7660 Marketing Consultants:

DEVISING THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE

Mobius Industries 020 7269 9929 Graphic Design & Website: Iain Lanyon @ KeanLanyon.com

Led by Thomas Prattki, Founder and Director of LISPA Sat 28 > Sun 29 Jan 10:00 > 16:00 London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA) The Old Lab, 3 Mills Studios, Three Mill Lane, London, E3 3DU £100 for the two days Bookings: welcome@lispa.co.uk or call 020 8215 3390 www.lispa.co.uk

Brochure printed by: Axis Online

Photo Credits: Autour du Mime: Luciano Usai Blind Summit: Nigel Bewley / Blind Summit Claudio Stellato: Martin Firket Cie L’Immédiat: Vincent Beaume Fleur Elise Noble: Jamie WIlliams Gandini Juggling: Ryoko Uyama Hiroaki Umeda: Bertrand Baudry / Shin Yamagata Invisible Thread: Invisible Thread Kulunka Teatro: Gonzalo Jerez NoFit State Circus: Kiran Ridley / Farrows Creative Sugar Beast Circus: Jean-Christophe Nicolas Tête de Pioche: Philippe Mangen Theatre Ad Infinitum: Alex Brenner Toron Blues: Camille Chalain

A new generation of performing artists is changing the landscape of today’s theatre. What began a few decades ago as an avant-garde movement has changed the vision of main stream theatre as well. The idea of the performer as a creator of her/his own work is no longer a fringe phenomenon, but reflects the broad desire of an entire generation of performers to develop their very own artistic voice and to take creative responsibility in shaping their vision of life. This two-day workshop taught by Thomas Prattki, will give an introduction into LISPA’s teachings for the devising artist. It addresses all performers, dancers, actors, directors and teachers in the field of the performing arts who have an interest in the idea of creating original work.

WORKSHOPS

EXTREME PUPPETRY

to work with Mark Down, co-artistic director of the company, to gain some experience of their methods of working. It will cover the basic concepts of breath, focus and fixed point. Participants will learn to channel their acting skills into an object or puppet to bring it alive and to work closely with two other puppeteers using Blind Summit’s unique improvisational performance technique. For experienced puppeteers and/or actors with an interest in learning puppetry. Participants should wear clothes that are suitable for movement and soft shoes or trainers.

Booking & Access Information Please include details of any special access requests at the time of booking. Autour du Mime

BOO KING 21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE For event on pages 4-5

Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall

Barbican Theatre & The Pit, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS

Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XX

Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London WC2E 9DD

In Person: Mon-Sat 9.30am -10pm. No transaction fee

For events on pages 6-17

For events on pages 18-21

By Phone: 020 7478 0100 No transaction fee

Online: southbankcentre.co.uk (transaction fee applies)

Online: roh.org.uk (transaction fee applies)

Online: sohotheatre.com No transaction fee

By Post: 21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE No transaction fee. Cheques payable to ‘Soho Theatre’. All tickets to be collected from the Box Office, or add £1 for postage. Concessions: People under 26, full-time students, senior citizens, people who have a registered disability, unwaged people, Westminster ResCard holders and groups of 10 or more. Tickets for 16 Jan (BSI interpreted) are £10 for those using the service.

Access Information: 020 7478 0100 or see website for details

In Person: Royal Festival Hall 10am-8pm daily No transaction fee By Phone: 0844 847 9910   9am-8pm (transaction fee applies) By Fax: 0207 921 0607 (transaction fee applies)

By Post: PO Box 6, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7QA. Cheques payable to ‘Royal Opera House’ Tube: Covent Garden Access: See website for details

In Person: At the Advance Box Office, Silk Street entrance, ground floor (Level G). Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun and Bank Holidays 12 noon-9pm. By Phone: 0845 121 6839 Mon-Sat 10am-8pm Sun 11am-8pm. A booking fee applies to each transaction. Tickets sent by 1st class post, time permitting. By Post: Box Office, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS. Cheques payable to ‘Barbican Centre’ or your credit card details. Please include an SAE or add 50p for postage.

For events on pages 28-31 Online: roundhouse.org.uk (transaction fee applies) In Person: Mon-Sat 11am-6pm. Later on performance days. By Phone: 0844 482 8008 Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 10am-4pm (transaction fee applies) By Post: Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8EH Cheques payable to ‘Roundhouse’. Collect tickets from the Box Office, or add £1 for postage. Tube/Train: Chalk Farm, Camden Town Access: See website for details

Tube: Charing Cross, Embankment, Waterloo

Students: Are entitled to half price tickets in advance, for all Wed eves. Proof of eligibility required. Conditions apply.

Access Information: 0844 875 0073 access@southbankcentre.co.uk

Access: Please contact Box Office or email access@ barbican.org.uk

THANK YOU

BOOK ONLINE VIA WWW.MIMELONDON.COM Online booking links, slideshows, ebook and pdf of this brochure, largetext page, free mailing list, links to Company websites with videos and much more!

By Phone: 020 7304 4000 Most major credit and debit cards are accepted. (transaction fee applies)

Online: barbican.org.uk (reduced booking fee)

Tube/train: Barbican, Moorgate Groups: Buy 10 or more tickets and save 20%. 020 7382 7211. Conditions apply. Families: Up to three under 16s at half price with each full paying adult. Conditions apply. FreeB: Free tickets for 16-25’s www.barbican.org.uk/freeb

The 2012 London International Mime Festival gratefully acknowledges co-operation/ financial support from: Arts Council England; Institut français; Barbican; Southbank Centre (reg’d charity); Wallonie-Bruxelles International; Wallonie-Bruxelles Théâtre/ Danse

269a Archway Road, London N6 5AA For event on pages 32-33 Online: jacksonslane.org.uk (transaction fee applies) In Person: Tue-Sat 10am-7.30pm, Sun 10am - 5pm. By Phone: 020 8341 4421 (transaction fee applies) By Post: 269a Archway Road, London N6 5AA. Cheques payable to ‘Jacksons Lane’ Collect tickets from the Box Office, or add 50p for postage. Concessions: OAPs, students, under 16s and unwaged, with proof of status. Carers attend free of charge. Tube: Highgate Access: See website for details

BOOKING

Tube: Tottenham Court Road, Leicester Square, Oxford Circus, Piccadilly Circus

Concessions: Limited concessions are available for each performance. Visit southbankcentre.co.uk for more information.

In Person: Mon-Sat 10am-8pm. The Box Office is in the Link, connecting Bow Street to Covent Garden Piazza.

For events on pages 22-27

Roundhouse Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8EH

TRAVELLING TO SHOWS Please allow extra travel time at weekends due to planned engineering work on tubes and trains - details and route planners at www.tfl.gov.uk

LONDON INTERNATIONAL MIME FESTIVAL 2012 DATE

SOHO THEATRE

SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S PURCELL ROOM

SOUTHBANK CENTRE’S QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL

LINBURY STUDIO THEATRE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

BARBICAN THEATRE

BARBICAN THE PIT

ROUNDHOUSE STUDIO THEATRE

JACKSONS LANE

Wed 11 Blind Summit 7.30pm Thu 12

Blind Summit 3pm / 7.30pm

Fri 13

Blind Summit 7.30pm

Sat 14

Blind Summit 3pm / 7.30pm

Sun 15

Baccala Clowns 4pm

Mon 16 Blind Summit Tue 17

Baccala Clowns 7.45pm*

7.30pm* #

Blind Summit 7.30pm

Baccala Clowns 7.45pm

Hiroaki Umeda 7.45pm* Hiroaki Umeda 7.45pm

Ad Infinitum 7.45pm

Invisible Thread 8pm*

Autour du Mime 7.45pm*

Gandini 7.45pm

L’Immediat 7.45pm

Ad Infinitum 7.45pm

Invisible Thread 8pm

Thu 19

Blind Summit 3pm / 7.30pm

Toron Blues 7.45pm

Gandini 7.45pm*

L’Immediat 7.45pm

Ad Infinitum 7.45pm*

Invisible Thread 8pm

Fri 20

Blind Summit 7.30pm

Toron Blues 7.45pm

NoFit State 7.30pm

Gandini 7.45pm

L’Immediat 7.45pm*

Ad Infinitum 7.45pm

Invisible Thread 8pm

Sat 21

Blind Summit 3pm / 7.30pm

Toron Blues 7.45pm*

NoFit State 3pm*/ 7.30pm

Gandini 7.45pm

L’Immediat 7.45pm

Ad Infinitum 7.45pm

Invisible Thread 8pm

Sun 22

Toron Blues 4pm

NoFit State 3pm

Mon 23

Claudio Stellato 7.45pm

Tue 24

Claudio Stellato 7.45pm*

Fleur E Noble 7.45pm

Pioche 7pm / 8.30pm

Wed 25

Claudio Stellato 7.45pm

Fleur E Noble 7.45pm

Pioche 7pm / 8.30pm*

Thu 26

Kulunka Teatro 7.45pm

Fleur E Noble 7.45pm*

Fri 27

Kulunka Teatro 7.45pm*

Fleur E Noble 7.45pm

Pioche 7pm / 8.30pm

Sugar Beast 8pm

Fleur E Noble 7.45pm

Pioche

Sugar Beast 8pm*

Sat 28

Kulunka Teatro 7.45pm

Sun 29

Kulunka Teatro 4pm * AFTER SHOW DISCUSSION

BLIND SUMMIT: BSL INTERPRETED PERFORMANCE MON 16 JAN

BOOKING

Autour du Mime 7.45pm

Wed 18 Blind Summit 7.30pm

Invisible Thread 6pm

3pm/4.30pm/6pm/8.30pm

Sugar Beast 6pm