From minute flickers of the eye to acrobatics whirling across the stage – the London International Mime Festival ( Jan 9 to Feb 6) celebrates every beautiful extreme of the art form.
Now entering its 40th year, the festival offers 29 days of physical and visual theatre including cutting edge circus skills, live animation and puppetry, mask productions, films, workshops and discussions.
Organisers have brought together the most exciting and thought-provoking artists from Australia, Belgium, France,Germany, Holland, New Zealand, Spain and Sweden alongside Britain’s emerging talents and established names and 17 of the 18 productions will be UK or London premieres.
It opens with a tender and witty exploration of ageing and includes explorations of laughter, the mind of a shell-shocked solider, Spain’s history, adventures with a kite, the life of a 1960s teenager and more.
With 112 performances at the Barbican, Central Saint Martin’s Platform Theatre, Jacksons Lane, Shaw Theatre, Soho Theatre, Southbank Centre, The Peacock, and, for the first time, Tate Modern, there is something for everyone.
Here are some of the highlights.
Performers from Ockham’s Razor balance, climb and cling to poles in Tipping Point at Platform Theatre. PHOTO: Nik Mackey
The Best Thing at Jacksons Lane is about a 1960s teenager’s life being turned upside-down. PHOTO: Graeme Braidwood
Oog by UK performer Al Seed will be on at Jacksons Lane. PHOTO: Maria Falconer
Six performers from French company Compagnie Yoann Bourgeois will appear to defy the laws of gravity in He Who Falls at Barbican Theatre. PHOTO: Geraldine Aresteanu
Memories of a cruel childhood spill over in Jakop Ahlbom’s Horror at Peacock Theatre. PHOTO: Paulina Matusiak/ Eddy Wenti
The Festival runs from January 9 to February 6. Details: mimelondon.com
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