London International Mime Festival 2010

EYE-POPPING VISUAL THEATRE FOR THE DIGITAL AGE 13 > 31 JAN 2010 www.mimefest.co.uk

With 15 companies from 10 countries and 13 UK premieres including the world premiere of The Mill from Britain’s Ockham’s Razor, LIMF10 promises one of the most diverse and exciting programmes in the Festival’s history. Opening at the Barbican with world class circus-theatre from Switzerland’s Zimmermann & de Perrot the season features a dazzling choice of inspiring, unusual and entertaining visual theatre, complemented by meet the artist sessions, workshops, and this year’s festival lecture to be given by Bristol Old Vic artistic director, Tom Morris.

As always we are grateful to all our artists, venue colleagues and funders. Most importantly we gratefully acknowledge the core financial assistance and support of Arts Council England.

Joseph Seelig & Helen Lannaghan, Festival Directors

HELP WITH CHOOSING: Shows using puppetry/animation Ateliers du Spectacle BlackSkyWhite Compagnie Bal/Jeanne Mordoj Compagnie Mossoux-Bonté Etgar Theatre Pathosformel Family-friendly shows 5+ Circus Klezmer Collectif Petit Travers Compagnie Ieto Mimbre Okidok Zimmermann & de Perrot 12+ /Parental guidance Ateliers du Spectacle BlackSkyWhite Compagnie Mossoux-Bonté Etgar Theatre Kitt Johnson X-act

Meet the artists after the shows Shows using circus skills Circus Klezmer Collectif Petit Travers Compagnie Bal/Jeanne Mordoj Compagnie Ieto Mimbre O Ultimo Momento/Joao Paulo Dos Santos Ockham’s Razor Okidok Zimmermann & de Perrot Shows for people with hearing impairment Shows in the Festival are textfree except: Ateliers du Spectacle A Distances, which has a small amount of text in French; Etgar Theatre Eshet, which has some Hebrew with English surtitles; Compagnie Bal/Jeanne Mordoj Eloge du Poil, which has some French with English surtitles PLEASE ARRIVE IN GOOD TIME FOR THE SHOWS - LATECOMERS MAY NOT BE ADMITTED

Thu 14 Jan: Zimmermann & de Perrot Mon 18 Jan: Etgar Theatre Tue 19 Jan: BlackSkyWhite Wed 20 Jan: Ockham’s Razor Thu 21 Jan: Mossoux-Bonté Fri 22 Jan: Kitt Johnson X-act Fri 22 Jan: Collectif Petit Travers Sat 23 Jan: Joao Paulo Dos Santos Sat 23 Jan: Okidok Sun 24 Jan: Circus Klezmer (2.30pm perf) Mon 25 Jan: Pathosformel (8.30pm perf) Tue 26 Jan: Mimbre Thu 28 Jan: Cie Bal/Jeanne Mordoj Fri 29 Jan: Ateliers du Spectacle Sat 30 Jan: Compagnie Ieto Cover photo: Ockham’s Razor This page: Collectif Petit Travers

Book online: www.mimefest.co.uk

ZIMMERM A N N & DE PER R OT ÖPER ÖPIS

‘Magnificent, dreamlike, devilishly good... a riot of fantasy and surprise’ Le Nouvel Observateur, Paris

SWITZERLAND

Barbican Theatre Wed 13 > Sat 16 Jan

UK PREMIERE

On a precariously tilting, unstable floor a daredevil game of shifting relationships, balance and control unfolds. Driven by a fabulous live scratched soundscore, every move is a risk, every step a challenge and everyone’s perspective distorted.

Opening the 2010 London International Mime Festival, Öper Öpis (‘Someone Something’) is a rich mix of visual arts, circus, music, theatre and dance. Directed and led by the rubber-limbed Martin Zimmermann and composer/DJ Dimitri de Perrot, the company features some of Europe’s top young circus artists.

Zimmermann & de Perrot are based in Zurich. Öper Öpis is their third piece to feature at LIMF, following Gopf (2002) and Gaff Aff (2006).

Winner of the 2009 Swiss Choreographic Prize

BARBICAN

Wed 13 > Sat 16 Jan 7.45pm Runs approx 70 mins/no interval Meet the Artists Thu 14 Jan £10/£12/£16/£21/£26 Tickets: 0845 121 6839 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk

Concept, direction & stage design: Zimmermann & de Perrot Original music: Dimitri de Perrot Choreography: Martin Zimmermann Devised and performed by: Blancaluz Capella, Victor Cathala, Rafael Moraes, Dimitri de Perrot, Kati Pikkarainen, Eugénie Rebetez, Martin Zimmermann Co-production: London International Mime Festival; Equinoxe, Scène Nationale de Châteauroux; Grand Théâtre de Luxemburg; La Ferme du Buisson, Scène Nationale de Marne la Vallée; La Filature, Scène Nationale de Mulhouse; Opéra Dijon; Le Maillon, Théâtre de Strasbourg; Le Merlan, Scène Nationale à Marseille; Pour-cent culturel Migros; Schauspielhaus Zürich; Theater Chur; Théâtre de la Ville, Paris; Théâtre Vidy, Lausanne; Verein Zimmermann & de Perrot.

Supported by Swiss Arts Council Pro-Helvetia

Presented in association with barbicanbite10

www.zimmermanndeperrot.com

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COMPAG N I E MOSSOU X - B O N T É KEFAR NAHUM

UK PREMIERE

In Kefar Nahum, sorceress-puppeteer Nicole Mossoux creates theatre of startling, unforgettable images, at once droll and frightening. Power games and monstrous couplings, feudal rights and unexplained violence take place in a procession of transformations.

Everything is possible in this world, where suggestion opens the door to darkest, deepest dreams. It’s the story of Creation, a great project gone badly wrong, where people can’t relate and so devour each other. Even the puppeteer herself cannot escape.

‘An astonishing performance by the dancer/ manipulator. She breathes life into objects.

Uncategorisable, irresistible, monstrous and lyrical’ Le Soir (Brussels)

BELGIUM

Barbican, The Pit Tue 19 > Sat 23 Jan

Seen in more than 30 countries across the world, Nicole Mossoux and Patrick Bonté have been creating performances at the crossroads of theatre and dance since 1985.

Directed by: Patrick Bonté & Nicole Mossoux Soundscore composed and played live by: Thomas Turine

Tue 19 > Sat 23 Jan 7.45pm Runs approx 50 mins/no interval Meet the Artists Thu 21 Jan All seats £12 Tickets: 0845 121 6839 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk

BARBICAN

Production: Compagnie Mossoux-Bonté in co-production with Fidena Festival, Bochum (Germany) Presented in association with barbicanbite10

www.mossoux-bonte.be

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COMPAG N I E B A L / JEANNE M O R D O J

‘This is one of the beautiful treasures of the season. At first it’s our eyes that open up to this show, our hearts quickly follow’

FRANCE

Barbican, The Pit Wed 27 > Sat 30 Jan

L’Est Republicain

ELOGE DU POIL (In Praise of Hairiness) UK PREMIERE In a fairground-carnival setting, sharing her freakshow stage with a badger, a mountain goat and other natural curiosities, Jeanne Mordoj juggles egg yolks and bamboo and forces us to consider taboos that rarely come to the surface.

Ventriloquist, contortionist and multi-talented circus artist, the charismatic bearded lady reveals truths about identity, perception, sex, and finally death itself.

Jeanne Mordoj trained and worked with Jérôme Thomas, Yoshi Oida and Jorg Müller among other circus and theatre artists, and from 2002-2006 performed with the Cahin Caha circus group.

BARBICAN

Wed 27 > Sat 30 Jan 7.45pm Runs approx 65 mins/no interval Meet the Artists Thu 28 Jan All seats £12 Tickets: 0845 121 6839 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk

Conceived & performed by: Jeanne Mordoj Directed by: Pierre Meunier

Production: Compagnie Bal Co-production: La Breche, Cherbourg; Pronomades en Haute-Garonne; Theatre de l’Espace, Besancon; Le Merlan, Marseille; Parc de la Villette, Paris; Equinoxe, Chateauroux; Cirque-Theatre d’Elbeuf; Les Subsistances, Lyon.

www.elogedupoil.com

Supported by Institut francais du Royaume-Uni and CULTURESFRANCE Presented in association with barbicanbite10

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ISRAEL

Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room Sat 16 > Tue 19 Jan

ETGAR T HEATRE ESHET

UK PREMIERE

Five life-size puppets and their human doubles play out the Old Testament story of Tamar, a young widow forced by convention to marry one of her dead husband’s brothers.

Echoing the treatment of women in many societies still, Eshet is a powerful drama that mixes puppetry and movement to denounce male oppression and the harshness of laws concerning women.

‘Wonderful use of puppets combined with excellent movement work… sensitive restrained and touching’ Ha’aretz

Originally created for the Acco Festival, Israel’s leading alternative theatre season, Eshet was most recently seen in Europe at the Mimos Festival in 2009.

The short sections of biblical Hebrew text that form part of the production will appear in English sur-titles.

Conceived, directed and designed by: Elit Veber Performers: Renana Raz, Yuval Fingerman Co-production: Etgar Theatre, Acco Theatre Festival 2002

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Sat 16 > Tue 19 Jan Sat, Mon, Tue 8pm, Sun 6pm Runs approx 55 mins/no interval Meet the Artists: Mon 18 Jan Not suitable for children under 12 All seats £14 Tickets: 0844 847 9928 Workshop: Mon 18 Jan - details on page 36 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk

Supported by Israel Lottery Council for the Arts Presented in association with Southbank Centre

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‘Brilliant. They have that magic formula that appeals to all ages’ Le Soir

BELGIUM

Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room Wed 20 > Sat 23 Jan

OKI DOK SLIPS INSIDE

UK PREMIERE

Leopold and Baudoin are two enthusiastic and competitive entertainers, eager to demonstrate their considerable talents – acrobatics, dance and the burlesque arts to name but a few.

In an atmosphere of mounting chaos they strive to outdo one another with feats of skill and increasing ingenuity.

Winner of the Grand Prix du Jury at the 2009 Milan Clown Festival and of the Prix du Public at the Rochefort Festival in France, this latest show from Belgium’s acclaimed theatre-clown duo Xavier Bouvier and Benoit Devos draws on some of their classic street-theatre repertoire, developed over many years. One of today’s most accomplished double acts, effortlessly and sublimely funny.

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Wed 20 > Sat 23 Jan Wed - Fri 8pm, Sat 6pm Meet the Artists: Sat 23 Jan Runs approx 60 mins/no interval All seats £14 Tickets: 0844 847 9928 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk Co-production: Théâtre des Doms and Maison de la Culture de Tournai Presented in association with Southbank Centre Okidok also presents HaHaHa Sun 24 Jan 3pm & 6.30pm. See page 18

www.okidok.be

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SPAIN

Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall Sat 23 Jan > Sun 24 Jan

CIR CUS K L E Z M E R They’re back! After last year’s hit marriage ceremony, bride, groom, guests and band re-assemble to do it all over again. A nice Jewish village wedding, somewhere in Eastern Europe, but it’s all going wrong as the rings are mislaid and the arguments start.

Circus Klezmer conjures up the bustling, colourful world of Emir Kusturica’s Time of the Gypsies and Chagall’s dreamlike paintings in this riotous, atmospheric and acclaimed circus-theatre entertainment performed with live klezmer music. If you missed out last time – book early to avoid disappointment!

Directed by: Adrian Schvartzstein Presented in association with Southbank Centre

‘Gloriously good fun’

MUSIC OMH

‘The wedding may be pretend, but the atmosphere is not. Together we share something truly real...

Circus Klezmer is generosity over arrogant spectacle’ CULTURE WARS

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Sat 23 > Sun 24 Jan Sat 7.30pm, Sun 2.30 & 7.30pm Meet the Artists: Sun 24 Jan (after 2.30 show) Runs approx 75 mins/no interval £12/£15/£18 Tickets: 0844 847 9928 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk

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COLLECT I F PET IT TR AV E R S PAN-POT

‘They can do things with balls that make your jaw drop and cinema’s CGI effects look plain and uninspired’

FRANCE

Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall Thu 21 > Fri 22 Jan

Daily Telegraph

UK PREMIERE

(Le Petit Travers at LIMF09)

Pan-Pot is a firework display of brilliant juggling building to a spectacular climax. On a bare stage lit in mood and colour inspired by American painter Mark Rothko, sombresuited jugglers conjure cascades of fizzing light from a stream of whiter-than-white balls. Like showers of shooting stars, objects fly from hand to hand with precision, grace and awesome speed.

Based in Toulouse Collectif Petit Travers brings together stage performers, designers, directors, writers and musicians to create new theatre using circus arts. Pan-Pot is their latest show and brings the group to the Festival for its third consecutive appearance.

Performed to piano music by Liszt, Ligeti, Mozart and Beethoven played live by Aline Piboule – this is a concert like no other.

www.collectifpetittravers.org

Devised and performed by: Nicolas Mathis, Julien Clément and Denis Fargeton Piano: Aline Piboule Co-production: Collectif Petit Travers, Théâtre Gérard Philipe/Frouard, L’Arche de Béthancourt, Les Subsistances/Lyon, Promenade(s) en Haut-Garonne, Les Migraiteurs in partnership with Le Maillon/Strasbourg.

Supported by Institut francais du Royaume-Uni and CULTURESFRANCE. Presented in association with Southbank Centre

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Thu 21 > Fri 22 Jan 7.30pm Meet the Artists: Fri 22 Jan Runs approx 55 mins/no interval £16/£14/£12 Tickets: 0844 847 9928 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk

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OKI DOK HAHAHA Their bizarre make-up and costume hint at Beckett or the great tradition of Russian clowning, but Xavier Bouvier and Benoit Devos have developed their own distinctive universe and style. First seen in London in an earlier version at LIMF03, HaHaHa is a series of original, wordless sketches and impressive physical routines which they polished and perfected in the course of touring with different circus troupes in Europe, America and Canada.

Okidok also presents Slips Inside 20 > 23 Jan. See page 12

Supported by Communauté Française de Belgique Presented in association with Southbank Centre

www.okidok.be

Guardian

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Sun 24 Jan 3pm & 6.30pm Runs approx 75 mins/no interval All seats £14 Tickets: 0844 847 9928 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk

‘There are extraordinary levels of skill and comic control operating here. The smallest mistake in timing would bring the whole edifice tumbling down. But there are no tumbles.

Instead, the show sends you back out into a dark, cold world feeling as if you had a little piece of the sun secretly stashed in your pocket’

BELGIUM

Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room Sun 24 Jan

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MIMBRE UNTIL NOW

‘Mimbre astonishes with its abundance of poetic agility’

UK

Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room Mon 25 > Wed 27 Jan

Journal de Tourcoing

LONDON PREMIERE

Until Now is a beautifully improbable acrobatic adventure, with a little magic and a few surprises.

Lyrical and timeless, fashioned from joyful flips and harmonious balances it tells a story of journeys and goodbyes and astonishing feats of friendship.

Graduates of The Circus Space in London, Silvia Fratelli, Lina Johansson and Emma Norin founded Mimbre in 1999. Their successful fusion of contemporary physical theatre, dance and world-class acrobatic performance has won popular acclaim across four continents.

The director is Spanish clown Leandre Ribera whose own poetic universe is a perfect match for Mimbre’s effortless skills.

Funded by European Cultural Foundation and Arts Council England.

Commissioned and supported by London International Mime Festival, Laban Theatre and Jackson’s Lane Presented in association with Southbank Centre

www.mimbre.co.uk

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Mon 25 > Wed 27 Jan 8pm Meet the Artists: Tue 26 Jan Runs approx 60 mins/no interval All seats £14 Tickets: 0844 847 9928 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk

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FRANCE

Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room Thu 28 > Sun 31 Jan

COMPAG N I E I E TO IETO

UK PREMIERE

This acrobatic battle of wits is the latest winner of Jeunes Talents Cirque – the annual competition to find Europe’s best young circus artists – to feature at LIMF. Following, among others, Camille Boitel (LIMF05) Ockham’s Razor (LIMF08) and last year Collectif Petit Travers and Compagnie Un Loup Pour L’Homme, Jonathan Guichard and Fnico Feldmann were winners of the 2008 Award with this impressive exhibition of equilibrist skills.

Using little more than a few wooden benches, some rope and a fine understanding of mechanics, these two inventive artists draw us into their warm-hearted power struggle.

Ieto is directed by top French circus-theatre creator, Christian Coumin.

Co-production : Jeunes Talents Cirque Europe / Les Migrateurs-Strasbourg / Théâtre de la Digue-Toulouse / Le Hangar des Mines-St Sébastien d’Aigrefeuille / Chemin de Cirque (Eurorégion, La Grainerie-Balma, La Ferme de Riu Ferrer-Arles Sur Tech / l’Ateneu-Barcelone) / Studio Lido-Toulouse

‘Constantly inventive, mesmeric and delightful acrobatic theatre’ Telerama

Supported by Institut francais du Royaume-Uni and CULTURESFRANCE Presented in association with Southbank Centre

www.ieto.fr

Also at Warwick Arts Centre Tue 26 Jan 7.30pm Tickets: 024 7652 4524 www.warwickartscentre.co.uk

SOUTHBANK CENTRE

Thu 28 > Sun 31 Jan Thu-Fri 8pm, Sat 6pm, Sun 4pm Meet the Artists: Sat 30 Jan Runs approx 70 mins/no interval All Seats £14 Tickets: 0844 847 9928 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk

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OCKHAM ’ S R A Z O R THE MILL

‘Daring aerial theatre’

UK

Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House Tue 19 > Thu 21 Jan

Independent

‘Physically thrilling’ Sunday Times

WORLD PREMIERE

To date the only ever British award-winners at the prestigious Jeunes Talents Cirque, Ockham’s Razor create daring physical theatre on aerial equipment specially created for each new show.

In The Mill, their latest production, the world of Ockham’s Razor revolves quite literally inside and around a wheel of wood and steel suspended six metres in the air. By turns treadmill and pleasure wheel, it’s the vehicle for a rollercoaster ride through every human emotion and its effects are unpredictable and dramatic.

Director Toby Sedgwick was a founder member of 1980s cult group Moving Picture Mime Show, and most recent winner of the Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for The National Theatre’s War Horse. Dramaturgy is by Rufus Norris, recent winner of the Evening Standard Award for Best Director.

Devised by: Ockham’s Razor in association with Toby Sedgwick Co-devised by: Stefano Di Renzo and Paul Evans Performers: Charlotte Mooney, Alex Harvey, Tina Koch, Stefano Di Renzo, Paul Evans

LINBURY ROH

Tue 19 > Thu 21 Jan 7.45pm Runs approx 60 mins/no interval Meet the Artists Wed 20 Jan £6.50/£11/£13/£16 (£7.50 students/under 16s) Tickets: 020 7304 4000 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk

The Mill is a LIMF co-commission Produced by Turtle Key Arts Ockham’s Razor is funded by Arts Council England

www.ockhamsrazor.co.uk

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O ULTIMO MOMENTO / JOAO PAULO DOS SANTOS CONTIGO

UK PREMIERE

‘A master of physicality’ La Provence

‘Graceful, mind-blowing, dizzying’ DNA

‘The intoxication of height and the excitement of falling’

FRANCE/PORTUGAL

Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House Fri 22 > Sat 23 Jan

Danser

Contigo is a heart-stopping story about anger and loneliness. Using one of the most dramatic pieces of circus equipment – the Chinese-pole – virtuoso acrobat Joao Paulo Dos Santos and choreograher Rui Horta created this stunning display of artistry, strength and skill as a commission for the Avignon Festival.

Joao trained at Chapito in Lisbon and at the Rosny Circus school in France.

He has worked with Philippe Genty and is a member of the Cheptel Aleikoum circus collective. Rui Horta’s dance works feature in the repertoire of Cullberg Ballet and Netherlands Dance Theatre and he staged Ola Kala for the renowned French aerial circus group, Les Arts Sauts.

Directed by: Rui Horta & Joao Paulo Dos Santos Performer: Joao Paulo Dos Santos Co-production: SACD (Le Sujet à Vif) Avignon Festival, O Espaco de Tempo, O Ultimo Momento Supported by Institut francais du Royaume-Uni and CULTURESFRANCE

www.scenesdecirque.org

LINBURY ROH

Fri 22 > Sat 23 Jan Fri 7.45pm, Sat 4pm Meet the Artists Sat 23 Jan Runs approx 45 mins/no interval £6.50/£11/£13/£16 (£7.50 students/under 16s) Tickets: 020 7304 4000 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk

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BLACKSK Y W H I T E USSR WAS HERE

‘The most alternative of all theatre groups in Russia, its performances are without even the smallest conventions. Borderless chaos, indescribable apocalypse – the audience is caught up from the first moment’

RUSSIA

ICA Theatre Sat 16 > Wed 20 Jan

Amadei

LONDON PREMIERE

Moscow’s BlackSkyWhite made an indelible impression on British audiences with its nightmarish Bertrand’s Toys and subsequently with Astronomy for Insects.

USSR Was Here is a vision of disintegration. Through movement, shadows, sound and light, often terrifying characters and grotesque costume, this is an overwhelming, impressionistic response to the sudden collapse of a great edifice.

ICA

‘In a single minute this building that 250 million called home simply vanished. Some were happy to see it go, others couldn’t survive the change.

We don’t seek to examine the effect of its disappearance but only to display it, lest it be forgotten’. Dimitry Aryupin

Sat 16 > Wed 20 Jan 8pm Meet the Artists Tue 19 Jan Runs approx 60 mins/no interval £14 (£12 concs) Tickets: 020 7930 3647 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk Directed by: Dimitry Aryupin Performers: Marcella Soltan, Egor Moiseev

www.bsw.ru

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KITT JOH N S O N X -a c t RANKEFOD

UK PREMIERE

A stunning solo performance that explores the origin of the species.

Kitt Johnson moves like a magical creature from a bygone age. Reptilian, insect-like, animalistic, human – her body changes in front of your eyes.

This is the story of our evolution analysed with one fascinating body and its unconscious memory, set to a soundscape of computer-manipulated sounds from the natural world.

‘Beyond the notion of ugly or beautiful, male or female she achieved a state of pure living existence. An intense and wonderful experience’

DENMARK

ICA Theatre Thu 21 > Sat 23 Jan

The Scotsman

‘Rare is the choreographer who can say a great deal with very little’ New York Times

Kitt Johnson came to butoh, German expressionist theatre and contemporary movement from a background in elite athletics. As a performer and choreographer she has worked with Sasha Walz and Mark Tompkins amongst others.

ICA

Thu 21 > Sat 23 Jan 8pm Meet the Artists Fri 22 Jan Runs approx 55 mins/no interval £14 (£12 concs) Tickets: 020 7930 3647 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk

Choreography/performance: Kitt Johnson Composition/live music: Sture Ericson Supported by the Royal Danish Embassy

www.kittjohnson.dk

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PATHOSF O R M E L

‘A rare, refined, and even poignant fusion of conceptual and emotional art’

ITALY

ICA Theatre Sun 24 > Tue 26 Jan

CARTA

THE TIMIDITY OF BONES UK PREMIERE Eerily impressed into the surface of a large, luminous white screen, the outline of bones and skeletal forms appear. Perhaps the debris of buried civilisations, fragments build to form a floating frieze, and finally a body that evokes an unimaginably distant and mysterious past.

Pathosformel is Daniel Blanga Gubbay and Paola Villani, young artists based in Milan. Their work explores new ways of using the body on stage and radically experiments with movement and visual imagery. The Timidity of Bones was created in 2007 when it won special mention at Premio Scenario, Italian theatre’s leading awards celebration. In 2008 it was an award-winner at Sezione Autonoma in Cesena, an event established by Romeo Castellucci’s Societas Raffaello Sanzio.

ICA

Sun 24 > Tue 26 Jan 7pm & 8.30pm Meet the Artists: Mon 25 Jan (after 8.30pm show) Runs approx 25 mins/no interval £10 (£8 concs) Tickets: 020 7930 3647 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk Production: Pathosformel / FIES Factory One

www.pathosformel.org 33

‘Astonishing, poetic and completely original’.

Il Messagero

FRANCE

ICA Theatre Thu 28 > Sun 31 Jan

L ES ATEL I E R S DU SPEC TA C L E A DISTANCES

UK PREMIERE

From France, extraordinary animation theatre in seven short episodes, mysterious, unconventional and entertainingly quirky. A Distances is a micro-epic for two performers, shadows, puppets, objects, sounds, imagination and wonderful, clanking Heath-Robinson machinery.

From the same planet as Faulty Optic, Jan Svankmejer and the Brothers Quay, Jean-Pierre Larroche’s Ateliers du Spectacle has been devising boundary-breaking visual theatre for more than twenty years.

A Distances won the Jury prize for Most Original Production at the 2009 Valladolid Festival, Spain.

ICA

Thu 28 > Sun 31 Jan Thu - Sat 8pm, Sun 6pm Meet the Artists Fri 29 Jan Runs approx 80 mins/no interval £14 (£12 concs) Tickets: 020 7930 3647 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk Directed by: Thierry Roisin Performers: Jean-Pierre Larroche and Marion Lefevbre Co-production: Les ateliers du spectacle et Beaux Quartiers; le Vélo Théâtre à Apt; Massalia Théâtre de Marionnettes à Marseille; le Théâtre de Cornouaille à Quimper Supported by Institut francais du Royaume-Uni and CULTURESFRANCE

www.ateliers-du-spectacle.org

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WORKSH O P S + L E C T U R E 2010 LIMF LECTURE: TOM MORRIS - CHAPTER 3 Sat 23 Jan 2.30pm

ICA Theatre £7 (£6 concs & ICA members) Tickets: 020 7930 3647 Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk Chaired by Joseph Seelig Session runs approx 75 mins Tom Morris is Artistic Director of the Bristol Old Vic, where he will direct Juliet and her Romeo, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, in March. He was director of BAC from 1995-2004 where he revolutionised the programme and established the venue as a national centre for the development of new theatre, working with companies such as Complicité, Improbable, Ridiculusmus and many others, and nurturing high profile projects such as Jerry Springer: The Opera.

In 2004 he became an Associate Director at the National Theatre and was responsible for the development of some of the NT’s greatest successes of recent times, Coram Boy, A Matter of Life and Death (adapted with Emma Rice of Kneehigh), and War Horse, which he also codirected. Throughout his professional career Tom has been closely associated with Britain’s most notable visual theatre companies, supporting people and ideas that, in his own words, “turn out to be blooming marvellous a few years later”.

Tom’s production of Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (co-directed with Felix Barrett of Punchdrunk), opens in the Olivier Theatre on January 12th.

COMING TO LIFE

Led by Yuval Fingerman & Renana Raz (Etgar Theatre)

Mon 18 Jan 10am > 3.45pm, followed by a discussion (4-5pm) Presented in association with the Puppet Centre Trust & Central School of Speech & Drama 62-64 Eton Avenue, London NW3 3HY £45 Bookings: 020 7637 5661 Email: mimefest@easynet.co.uk A one day workshop examining the relationship between puppetry, movement and dance.

Participants will explore story telling through movement; character creation through use of the body; how puppets can become human and the physical imagery of manipulation.

Led by Gavin Glover (Faulty Optic)

Sat 16 Jan 10am > 3.45pm, followed by discussion (4-5pm), led by Nenagh Watson, Central’s Creative Fellow in Puppetry and Object Theatre.

Presented in association with Central School of Speech & Drama 62-64 Eton Avenue, London NW3 3HY £45 Bookings: 020 7637 5661 Email: mimefest@easynet.co.uk A one day workshop to explore the possibility of making a puppet as lifelike as any actor through manipulation and focus. Working individually and in groups we will examine the extremes to which a puppet can work theatrically, with and without text. The basic rules covered are the fundamental parameters to using any type of puppet for adults, children, film and TV. Suitable for all theatre disciplines.

HOW TO BE A STUPID

OR THE CLOWN’S INTELLIGENCE Led by Angela de Castro

Mon 18 > Fri 29 Jan 10am > 6pm (Mon-Fri) Battersea Arts Centre Lavender Hill, London SW11 5TF Fee: £450 Bookings: whynotinstitute@aol.com or +44 (20) 7739 8363 How To Be A Stupid 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 loved women 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. www.thewhynotinstitute.com

CREATING THEATRE AND PERFORMANCE

Led by Thomas Prattki, Michael Brown and Aurelian Koch

Sat 23 > Sun 24 Jan 10am > 6pm 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: 020 8215 3390 www.lispa.co.uk Further information: welcome@lispa.co.uk A new generation of performing artists is changing the landscape of modern 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 physical and improvisational workshop will give an insight into the teachings of LISPA and its unique vision of an integral theatre pedagogy for the performing arts. It addresses performers, dancers, actors, directors and teachers in the field of the performing arts with an interest in the idea of creating original work.

and circus companies such as told By an Idiot, No Fit State and Gifford’s Circus. With his wife Joan he toured the Music Halls learning from greatest stars of the day including Randolph Sutton, Billy Dainty and Wilson Kepple and Betty.

CLOWN THROUGH MASK Led by Jonathan Young

Mon 4 Jan > Thu 4 Feb This powerful course, which synthesises Native North American and European clowning traditions, uses the magic of masks to reveal what is normally invisible. By each making and wearing six masks, we face all directions of the self, allowing us to embody our humanity fully – both ridiculous and beautiful. The rich inner worlds and distinct personas we each discover through the masks then serve as guides, allowing us to go much further in our performing than we could alone. This visionary training is open to performers and artists who are open to working through the body, voice and imagination.

Jonathan Young, artistic director of Shams, is an experienced teacher, performer and creator whose work combines visual theatre, circus, multimedia and installation.

Mon 4 > Fri 8 Jan

Led by Barry & Joan Grantham

(10am > 5pm): an intensive, stand-alone introduction where we explore presence, colours, innocence and experience; each person making, wearing and performing with their first mask.

Sat 30 Jan 10am > 5pm Sun 31 Jan 10am > 12 noon, followed

Mon 11 Jan > Thu 4 Feb

ECCENTRIC DANCE by a discussion (12.30-2pm) led by Jon Davidson, Central’s Creative Fellow in Clowning Presented in association with Central School of Speech & Drama 62-64 Eton Avenue, London NW3 3HY £75 Bookings: 020 7637 5661 Email: mimefest@easynet.co.uk

(9.30am > 1.30pm Mon-Fri): a recommended continuation where the five remaining masks are made and worn, creating a strong foundation for your clown. Includes technique and bodywork sessions, assisting the improvisation and performance work.

A workshop for clowns, mimes, comedians and all performers wanting to extend their movement vocabulary. Barry and Joan Grantham ‘s wealth of experience in dance, mime, music-hall and theatre makes them sought after world-wide performers, advisors, directors and teachers. this popular workshop offers the chance to learn timehonoured show business routines and eccentric steps made famous by legendary performers like Max Wall, Little tich, Rubberneck Jackley, and Snakehips Johnson. Barry Grantham has worked in ballet companies and West End musicals and has coached members of many physical theatre

1st week only: £225 ( £200 concs) Full month: £600 (£550 concs) Eastbourne House Arts, Bullards Place, London E2 0PT (Bethnal Green tube) Bookings: www.shamstheatre.org.uk or +44 (0) 7740 475 879

Workshops+Lecture

Listen online with SHOUTcast Full instructions on mimefest.co.uk.

ACTING THE PUPPET

37

BOOKING HOW TO GET THERE Full details are at each venue’s website, and through Transport for London: www.tfl.gov.uk Barbican Theatre & The Pit, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS

Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room at Queen Elizabeth Hall

For events on pages 4-9

Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall

Online: www.barbican.org.uk reduced booking fee

For events on pages 10-23

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.

Christmas closure: 24-25 Dec. Open Boxing Day 4-8pm

Online: www.southbankcentre.co.uk (transaction fee applies) Limited concessions are available for each performance.

Join our e-list to be the first to hear about on-sale dates.

Students: Are entitled to half price tickets in advance, for all Wednesday evenings. Proof of eligibility required.

In Person: Royal Festival Hall 10am-8pm daily No transaction fee

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

Please check online for Christmas opening hours: www.southbankcentre.co.uk

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

By Fax: 0207 921 0607 (transaction fee applies)

For events on pages 24-27

Access Information: 0844 847 9910 access@southbankcentre.co.uk Tube: Charing Cross, Embankment, Waterloo

NEED LARGER TEXT? PHONE US ON 020 7637 5661

By Post: Box Office, Barbican Centre, Silk Street EC2Y 8DS Send a cheque payable to ‘Barbican Centre’ or your credit cards details. Please include an SAE or add 50p for postage

Groups: Buy 10 or more tickets and save 20%. 020 7382 7211.

Conditions apply.

Families: Up to three under 16s come at half price with each full paying adult. Conditions apply.

FreeB: Free tickets for 16-25’s www.barbican.org.uk/freeb

Book online via www.mimefest.co.uk > Online booking links, slideshows, ebook and pdf of this brochure, largetext page, free mailing list, links to Company websites with videos and much more!

For events on pages 28-36 Online: www.ica.org.uk

Online: www.roh.org.uk In Person: Mon-Sat 10am8pm The Box Office is in the Link, connecting Bow Street to Covent Garden Piazza.

Christmas closure: 24-25 Dec

By Phone: 020 7304 4000 Amex, Diners Club, Mastercard, Maestro or Visa

By Post: PO Box 6, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7QA. Cheques payable to ‘Royal Opera House’

In Person: Mon-Sat noon 9.15pm (most busy 6-9pm) Sunday noon - 8pm Christmas closure: 24 Dec - 1 Jan

By Phone: 020 7930 3647

By Post: ICA Box Office, The Mall, London SW1Y 5AH. Cheques to ‘ICA Ltd’ Please include s.a.e Tube/Train: Charing Cross, Embankment, Piccadilly

THANK YOU The 2010 London International Mime Festival gratefully acknowledges co-operation/ financial support from: Arts Council England; barbicanbite10; European Commission representation in the UK; Institut français du Royaume-Uni and CULTURESFRANCE; Israel Lottery Council for the Arts; Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council; Royal Danish Embassy, London; Southbank Centre (registered charity); Wallonie-Bruxelles International

Tube: Covent Garden Access: http://www.roh.org.uk/ visit/locationandtransport.aspx

FOR THE LONDON INTERNATIONAL MIME FESTIVAL Tel: 44 (0) 20 7637 5661 Email: mimefest@easynet.co.uk 35 Little Russell Street, London WC1A 2HH Directors: Artists’ Manager: Group Host: Discussions Facilitator: Marketing Consultants: Press Representatives: Production Manager: Brochure/Web Design: Printed by:

Tube/train: Barbican, Moorgate

Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) The Mall SW1Y 5AH

Helen Lannaghan & Joseph Seelig Silvia Maroino Annette Telesford Dick McCaw Mobius Industries (020 7836 3864) Arthur Leone PR (020 7637 2994) Bill Deverson Iain Lanyon at www.keanlanyon.com Axis www.axisonline.co.uk

PHOTO CREDITS: Zimmermann & de Perrot © Mario Del Curto; Etgar Theatre © Dan Chen Okidok’s HaHaHa © Valérie Remise; Okidok’s Slips Inside © Thomas Freteur Mimbre © Eric Richmond & Lorenzo Sbrenna; Cie Ieto © Mylan Szypura Petit Travers © Philippe Cibille; BlackSkyWhite © bSw; Kitt Johnson © Per Morten Abrahamsen; Pathosformel © Paula Villani & Antonio Ottomanelli Ateliers du Spectacle © Brigitte Pougeoise; Ockham’s Razor © Nik Mackey O Ultimo Momento © Pedro Dos Santos; Mossoux-Bonté © Mika Wajnrych Cie Bal/Jeanne Mordoj © Christophe Raynaud de Lage

Booking Info

By Phone: 0845 121 6839 Mon-Sat 9am-8pm, Sun 11am-8pm. A booking fee applies to each transaction.

Tickets sent by 1st class post, time permitting.

By Phone: 0844 847 9928 9am-8pm (transaction fee applies)

39

LONDON INTERNATIONAL MIME FESTIVAL 2010

DATE

BARBICAN THEATRE

Wed 13

Zimm/dePerrot 7.45pm

Thu 14

Zimm/dePerrot 7.45pm

Fri 15

Zimm/dePerrot 7.45pm

Sat 16

Zimm/dePerrot 7.45pm

BARBICAN PIT

QUEEN ELIZABETH HALL

PURCELL ROOM

LINBURY STUDIO

ICA

MEET THE ARTISTS

Zimm/dePerrot

Etgar Theatre 8pm

BlackSkyWhite 8pm

Sun 17

Etgar Theatre 6pm

BlackSkyWhite 8pm

Mon 18

Etgar Theatre 8pm

BlackSkyWhite 8pm

Etgar Theatre

Tue 19

Mossoux-Bonté 7.45pm

Etgar Theatre 8pm

Ockham’s Razor 7.45pm

BlackSkyWhite 8pm

BlackSkyWhite

Wed 20

Mossoux-Bonté 7.45pm

Okidok 8pm

Ockham’s Razor 7.45pm

BlackSkyWhite 8pm

Ockham’s Razor

Thu 21

Mossoux-Bonté 7.45pm Petit Travers 7.30pm

Okidok 8pm

Ockham’s Razor 7.45pm

Kitt Johnson 8pm

Mossoux-Bonté

Fri 22

Mossoux-Bonté 7.45pm Petit Travers 7.30pm

Okidok 8pm

O Ult Momento 7.45pm

Kitt Johnson 8pm

P Travers/K Johnson

Sat 23

Mossoux-Bonté 7.45pm Circus Klezmer 7.30pm

Okidok 6pm

O Ult Momento 4pm

Tom Morris 2.30pm Kitt Johnson 8pm

O Ultimo Momento Okidok

Pathosformel 7+8.30pm

Circus Klezmer (2.30)

Sun 24

C Klezmer 2.30 + 7.30pm Okidok 3 + 6.30pm

Mon 25

Mimbre 8pm

Pathosformel 7+8.30pm

Pathosformel (8.30)

Tue 26

Mimbre 8pm

Pathosformel 7+8.30pm

Mimbre

Wed 27

Cie Bal/ Mordoj 7.45pm

Mimbre 8pm

Thu 28

Cie Bal/ Mordoj 7.45pm

Cie Ieto 8pm

Ateliers Spectacle 8pm

Jeanne Mordoj

Fri 29

Cie Bal/ Mordoj 7.45pm

Cie Ieto 8pm

Ateliers Spectacle 8pm

Ateliers Spectacle

Sat 30

Cie Bal/ Mordoj 7.45pm

Cie Ieto 6pm

Ateliers Spectacle 8pm

Cie Ieto

Cie Ieto 4pm

Ateliers Spectacle 6pm

Sun 31