Venues

Barbican
Online booking:
www.barbican.org.uk
0845 120 7548

ICA  
Online booking:   
www.ica.org.uk
020 7930 3647

Linbury Studio
at the Royal Opera House
Online booking: 
www.roh.org.uk
020 7304 4000

South Bank Centre
incorporating The Purcell Room
and Queen Elizabeth Hall   
Online booking: 
www.southbankcentre.co.uk
0870 0600 777

Croydon Clocktower
www.croydon.gov.uk/clocktower
020 8253 1030

Corn Exchange Newbury     
Online booking:
www.cornexchangenew.com
01635 522 733

BARBICAN
Barbican Theatre & The Pit, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS
0845 120 7548
www.barbican.org.uk
Companies: Mathurin Bolze Co; Rainpan 43
Online: Tickets can be booked online 24 hours a day at a reduced booking fee at www.barbican.org.uk
By Phone: Daily 9am-8pm. Admin fee £2 per transaction including return of tickets by 1st class postage, time permitting.
In Person: At the Advance Box Office, Silk Street entrance, ground floor (Level 0), Mon-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 12 noon-8pm.
Christmas Closure: 24-26 Dec. Post: Cheques made payable to 'Barbican Centre' and sent to the box office at the above address. Please include s.a.e or add 50p to cover postage.
Transport: Tube/Train: 5 mins from Barbican station, 10 mins from Bank, Blackfriars, City Thameslink, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Moorgate, Mansion House, St. Pauls. Bus: Route 153 runs daily between Finsbury Park, Angel and Liverpool St Station via Silk St. Other routes running near the Barbican include: 8, 11, 6, 35, 42, 43, 47, 48, 55, 56, 76, 78, 100, 133, 141, 214, 242, 271.

INSTITUTE OF CONTEMPORARY ARTS (ICA)
The Mall SW1Y 5AH
020 7930 3647
www.ica.org.uk
Companies: Al Seed; Buchinger's Boot Marionettes; Faulty Optic; John Fox; Philipp Boë; Steven Whinnery Co
In Person/By Phone: 020 7930 3647 Mon-Sun 12 noon-9.15pm (most busy between 6-9pm)
online: www.ica.org.uk
Post: Send cheque made payable to ‘ICA Ltd.’ with 1st class s.a.e. to the Ticket Office, or provide credit card details.
Christmas closure: 24-26 Dec, 31 Dec, 1 Jan Transport: Tube/Train: a short walk from Charing Cross, Embankment and Piccadilly. Bus: 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 23, 24, 53, 77A, 88, 91, 159, 176 which stop on Strand or Whitehall and 29, 91, 139 stop on Pall Mall.

LINBURY STUDIO THEATRE, ROYAL OPERA HOUSE
Linbury Studio at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden WC2E 9DD
020 7304 4000
www.roh.org.uk
Companies: Ockham's Razor; Zimmermann/de Perrot
In Person/By Phone: 020 7304 4000 The Box Office is open Mon-Sat 10am-8pm and is situated in the Link, connecting Bow Street to Covent Garden Piazza. Payment: By cheque made payable to 'Royal Opera House', or by American Express, Diners Club, Mastercard, Maestro or Visa.
Christmas closure: Closed 24-25 Dec
Transport: Tube/Train: Covent Garden station is a short walk. Bus: 1, 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 23, 26, 68, 76, 77a, 91, 168, 171, 176, 188, 505, 521, X68 all go the Aldwych. RV1 calls at Covent Garden, Waterloo Station, South Bank, Bankside, London Bridge and Tower Gateway.

SOUTH BANK CENTRE
South Bank Centre incorporating the Purcell Room and Queen Elizabeth Hall Belvedere Road SE1 8XX 0870 0600 777
www.southbankcentre
Companies: Co:Collisions; Inspector Sands & Stamping Ground Theatre;  Jean-Baptiste André;  Jozef Houben; Philippe Genty Co; Wolfe Bowart; Words, Signs & Vibes
Limited concessions are available for each performance.
Book early to take advantage of them!
In Person: RFH Festival Riverside Foyer (11am-6pm daily).  Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer (11am-8pm daily)* No transaction fee.
By Phone: 0870 0600777  daily 9.30am-8pm. £2 transaction fee applicable.
Christmas Opening Times: *24 Dec closes 5pm, 26 Dec opens 5pm, closed 25 & 1 Jan Online: www.rfh.org.uk £1.50 transaction fee applicable
Post: Cheques should be made payable to 'South Bank Centre' and sent to The Box Office, at the above address. Leave amount blank but indicate upper limit and including a £2 transaction fee. Please quote your name, address and phone numbers. For deaf or hard of hearing patrons: Fax 0870 163 3896 or book online, £1.50 transaction fee applicable.
Transport: Tube: Waterloo, or cross river from Temple, Embankment or Charing Cross. Train: Waterloo or Waterloo East. Bus: 1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 76, 168, 171, 172, 176, 188, 243, 341, 501, 521, X68 stop on Waterloo Bridge. 76, 77, 211, 341, 381 stop in York Road.

The shows

Jean-Baptiste André / Association W FRANCE
Comme En Plein Jour

Purcell Room South Bank Centre
Sat 13 to Mon 15 Jan
Sat & Mon 7.45pm, Sun 6pm
All seats £12 (limited concessions available)
Runs approx 70 mins without interval

Tickets 0870 0600 777
online booking >

'He makes us question the relationship of space and time, interior and exterior, real and imagined.'Voix du Nord

Brilliant young acrobat and hand-balancing virtuoso, Jean Baptiste André returns to the Festival with his brand new show, a sequel to 'Interieur Nuit' which has toured the world since playing at LIMF 2005. Powered by a specially commissioned electronic score, circus, dance and video art meet in a world of uncertain identity, shifting colour, startling landscapes and skewed perspective. Trained as a gymnast and then at the Centre National des Arts du Cirque in Chalon, Jean Baptiste has also collaborated with leading choreographers Philippe Decouflé and Christian Rizzo, for the latter performing a solo work specially commissioned by the Avignon Festival.
Post-show discussion: Sun 14 Jan, chaired by Dick McCaw
Presented in association with SBC
www.associationw.com >

Faulty Optic UK
Soiled

Institute of Contemporary Arts
Sun 14 to Thu 18 Jan
8pm
£13 (£11 concs)
Runs 75 minutes without interval

Tickets 020 7930 3647
online booking >

'It feels not like the shadow world of traditional puppetry but like a projection of human fears and desires, as though it is a pleasant game threatened by monsters. If you can imagine Wallace and Gromit written by Samuel Beckett, you might get some idea of Soiled.' Irish Times

Through the machinations of a boxing ballerina, a soil-spitting psychic, a sparrow with Tourette's syndrome and two jolly helpful waiters, a tale of deadly secrets, love and deception unfolds. Using animated figures, pre-recorded and live feed video, complex micro installations and specially composed sound and music, Faulty Optic sets off on another hazardous journey. Charming, cruel and spiked with wicked humour. Soiled draws on many traditions and ideas - Japanese Kabuki, Grand Guignol, surrealist spectacle and knockabout farce.
www.faultyoptic.co.uk >

Jozef Houben BELGIUM
The Art of Laughter

Purcell Room South Bank Centre
Tue 16 to Wed 17 Jan
7.45pm
All seats £12 (limited concessions available)
Runs approx 60 mins without interval

Tickets 0870 0600 777
online booking >

'If there's a more inspired contemporary physical comedian - I don't know of him.' The New Yorker

In a witty and engaging performance/demonstration, long-time Complicité actor, Jozef Houben, explains and illustrates what makes audiences laugh. His twenty year career includes writing and directing for groups such as The Right Size, involving him in some of the most successful physical comedy creations of recent times. His last performance at LIMF was in 1998 with Andrew Dawson, in their remarkable duet for four hands, Quatre Mains. He has recently appeared at the Bouffes du Nord in Paris, in a special production directed by Peter Brook, staged to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Samuel Beckett's birth. He teaches at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq.

Presented in association with SBC

Rainpan 43 USA
All Wear Bowlers

Barbican, The Pit
Tue 16 to Sun 28 Jan (not 22)
7.45pm
All seats £12 (students half price on Wednesdays, subject to availability) Runs approx 75 mins without interval

Tickets 0845 120 7548
online booking >

'As slick and funny as anything you'll see. It is a technical tour de force, so accomplished that it takes your breath away.'The Guardian

In this absurdist vaudevillian comedy, two silent movie comics fall literally off screen to find themselves unexpectedly in front of a live audience. Amidst mounting mayhem, struggling to make sense of the situation and get back into the film, they become only more disoriented. With moments of pathos reminiscent of a Laurel and Hardy film and the desolate humour of a Beckett play, All Wear Bowlers is a deliriously oddball exploration of identity, memory, nostalgia and amnesia. In a surreal landscape at once funny and mysterious, the quick-fire action unfolds in a series of hilarious variety routines, stage magic and venomous ventriloquism. Rainpan 43 are actors Geoff Sobelle and Trey Lyford. They created and premiered All Wear Bowlers in Philadelphia in 2003, since when the show has enjoyed successful seasons in New York, Los Angeles and Edinburgh. London Premiere

Post-show discussion Wed 17 Jan, chaired by Andrew Dawson
BSL interpreted performance: Tue 23 Jan

Presented in association with barbicanbite07

allwearbowlers.com >

Inspector Sands and
Stamping Ground Theatre UK
Hysteria

Purcell Room South Bank Centre
Thu 18 to Sun 21 Jan
Thu-Sat 7.45pm, Sun 6pm
All seats £12 (limited concessions available)
Runs approx 60 mins without interval

Tickets 0870 0600 777
online booking >

'Beautifully observed...wonderfully witty...I laughed until I cried' Guardian

The world is ending. And it's happening at table 9...  Inspired by T.S. Eliot's poem of the same name, Hysteria makes us witnesses to a painstaking attempt at social interaction. A man and a woman are on the most awkward dinner date of their lives. He is an academic whose research into modern day neuroses is threatening his sanity, she is an events manager who's terrified of missing the party. Caught in the middle is their mortified waiter.  With humour, physicality and visceral sound and lighting, Hysteria draws its audience into a world where the main course is a fight for survival and a banana can move you to tears.  Premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2006 where it won a Total Theatre Award and was shortlisted for the Carol Tambor Award. London premiere

Post-show discussion: Thu 18 Jan, chaired by Dick McCaw
BSL interpreted performance: Fri 19 Jan

Co-developed by BAC and The Nightingale Theatre, Brighton
Presented in association with BAC and SBC

Compagnie Philippe Genty FRANCE
La Fin des Terres (Lands End)

Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank Centre
Thu 18 to Sun 21 Jan
Thur-Sat 7.30pm, Sun 4pm
Seats £12/£16/£20/£24 (limited concessions available)
Runs approx 90 mins without interval

Tickets 0870 0600 777
online booking >

'These artists breathe life into dreams. Simply ravishing.' Le Telegramme

Illusionist extraordinaire, Philippe Genty has been creating acclaimed masterpieces in contemporary visual theatre for almost three decades. La Fin des Terres is his latest confection, a kaleidoscope of fantastic images conjured from tricks of perspective, distortion, movement, and puppets of all sizes. Re-awakening first desires, first fears and a sense of wonder, this spectacular show and its gallery of wild and surprising characters sets out on a roller-coaster journey through a landscape of dreams. Genty's boundless imagination is matched only by the expertise of his performers. Simply magical and astonishing to see. UK premiere

First London appearance in 15 years.
Early booking recommended.
Contains sexual references which some parents may consider unsuitable for younger children.

Post-show discussion: Sat 20 Jan, chaired by Joseph Seelig

Presented in association with SBC

www.philippegenty.com  >

view a trailer for La Fin des Terres >

Philipp Boë SWITZERLAND
Memoire de la Nuit

Institute of Contemporary Arts
Fri 19 to Sun 21 Jan
8pm
£13 (£11 concs)
Runs 60 minutes without interval

Tickets 020 7930 3647
online booking >

'With enigmatic presence and astonishing mime Philipp Boe has created an utterly original world, accompanied by a hypnotising sound track'. 24 Heures

Whilst investigating a murder, a detective gets pulled into the abyss of his own memories, which seem to lead him deep into the mind of the killer. Amidst imagery inspired by Rene Magritte and David Lynch, Memoire de la Nuit blurs borders between theatre and magic. Objects appear from nowhere to lead lives of their own and a mysterious chest of drawers reveals long guarded secrets. A gripping crime tale with a difference, an eerie experience of the surreal. Philipp Boe trained at Fooltime and Laban in the UK, and at the French National Circus School in Chalon sur Marne. Amongst other groups he has worked with RaRaZoo and Peepolykus. Winner of the 2005 Central European Stage Arts Award for innovation.

Post-show discussion Fri 19 Jan, chaired by Dick McCaw

Plus Croydon Clocktower Wed 17 Jan Tel: 020 8253 1030
www.croydon.gov.uk/clocktower >

Company:Collisions UK
Nothing Left To Lose

Purcell Room, South Bank Centre
Mon 22 to Tue 23 Jan
7.45pm
All seats £12 (limited concessions available)
Runs approx 70 mins without interval

Tickets 0870 0600 777
online booking >

'A theatrical requiem for innocent souls.'
Total Theatre

In the fearful minutes between enemy assaults a band of battered dolls rises from the wreckage to stage a resistance. Defying defeat they fight for their homeland armed with little more than courage, sticks and stones. Their struggles are hopeless but they laugh in the face of disaster in their final moments together. Powerfully performed by a seven-strong ensemble, this physical production bristles with startling visuals, bold choreography and original acappella song. Playful and impassioned in equal measure, Nothing Left To Lose celebrates the spirit of resistance through the ages. Director Tanushka Marah's last production, Medea, represented the UK at the Cyprus International Festival of Ancient Greek Drama. London premiere

Post-show discussion: Mon 22 Jan, chaired by Dick McCaw

Presented in association with SBC

www.companycollisions.com >

Steven Whinnery Co UK
Lying with the Animals

Institute of Contemporary Arts
Mon 22 to Tue 23 Jan
8pm
£13 (£11 concs)
Runs 60 minutes without interval

Tickets 020 7930 3647
online booking >

'The masks are what masks should be, both alarming and amusing, strange and joyous.'  Neil Bartlett. Writer/Theatre Director

'A gust of fresh air. Very, very funny and has the sharp colourful visual edge of Saul Steinberg, and artistry.' David Gothard. Theatre Director

Inspired by Gary Larson's The Far Side cartoons, director/mask-maker Steven Whinnery's playful work evokes an off-kilter world where the line between animal and human is mischievously blurred. Like a walk through a zoo after closing, Lying With The Animals is a touching and hilarious look at the animal kingdom when our backs are turned.

Post- show discussion Tue 23 Jan

www.lyingwiththeanimals.com >

Ockham's Razor UK
Arc

Linbury Studio Theatre at the
Royal Opera House
Mon 22 to Tue 23 Jan
8pm
£10/£12/£15
£8 (Students and ROH access list)

Tickets 020 7304 4000
online booking >
Runs approx 90 mins with interval

'Each gesture, movement and attitude is placed with perfection.' L'Echo 'The artists play with fragile equilibrium and the force of their youth' Le Figaro

Ockham's Razor is a critically acclaimed young theatre company, specialising in creating exciting work on new pieces of aerial equipment. The world premiere of its latest work, Arc, a human instinct survival story of three people set adrift at sea will be followed by Momento Mori, an intimate duet based on Holbein's The Dance of Death woodcuts and which won a prestigious Jeunes Talents Cirque award at its first showing, in Paris in 2004. Completing the programme is Every Action, a daring piece for four performers and 25 metres of rope, featured in ROH2's 'Firsts' in November 2006.

Post-show discussion: Mon 22 Jan
  
Plus Croydon Clocktower Thu 25 Jan 8pm 020 8253 1030 www.croydon.gov.uk/clocktower £11.50 (£7.80 concs)

Presented in association with The Circus Space
Ockham's Razor is produced by Turtle Key Arts

Al Seed UK
The Factory

Institute of Contemporary Arts
NB change to published dates
Sat 27 to Sun 28 Jan
8pm
£13 (£11 concs)
Tickets 020 7930 3647
online booking >
Runs approx 60 mins without interval

'Thrillingly disquieting...an exceptionally gifted performer.' The Scotsman

The earth has become a factory where everything is quantifiable and tradeable. War, being the most expensive business, is the best business. Invest your son... Half Pierrot, half Bin Laden, Al Seed blends dark physical theatre and bitter stand-up to animate a succession of bleak and disturbing characters. Created in response to the 'war on terror' and the London bombings, juxtaposing imagery from Frankenstein, Caligula, 1984 and Heart of Darkness with an explosive electro soundtrack, his ferocious, sometimes hilarious tales feature bombs, bureaucrats and businessmen. As far removed from the red nose and custard pie as clowning gets. The Factory was winner of The Jurypreis at The Arena Festival, Nuremberg 2006. Al Seed trained at Circomedia in Bristol, co-founded Hoax Productions and is currently Artist in Residence at The Arches in Glasgow. London premiere

Post-show discussion: Sat 27 Jan

Mathurin Bolze Company FRANCE
Tangentes
Presented in association with barbicanbite07

Barbican Theatre
Wed 24 to Sat 27 Jan
7.45pm
Tickets £7/£12/£16/£21/£26
Runs approx 75 mins without interval

Tickets 0845 120 7548
online booking >

'Exquisitely beautiful to watch. It is as though his body is talking to us, that it has created its own language full of beauty, little jokes, introspections and jazzy riffs.'
The Guardian (on Fenêtres)

Following the huge success of his solo show Fenêtres at the 2005 London International Mime Festival, brilliant young trampolinist, Mathurin Bolze returns with a stunning company of acrobats and a brand new show. A wonderful fusion of circus, theatre, dance and music, it's a performance that you’ll need to see to believe. Celebrating the amazing ability of the human body, these artists move through the air, sideways, upside down, horizontally and vertically, upturning concepts of time, space and gravity. The result is a dark and magical, topsy-turvy universe with its own expressive language, full of unusual figures that are both graceful and funny. Mathurin Bolze is a graduate of the French National Circus School. He has toured with radical French circus, Archaos, and for three years with Josef Nadj's acclaimed Cri du Caméléon. Contains some spoken text, in French and English. Includes some nudity. UK premiere

Post-show discussion Thur 25 Jan, chaired by Dick McCaw

Wolfe Bowart USA
LaLaLuna

Purcell Room, South Bank Centre
Thu 25 to Sun 28 Jan
Thu-Fri 7.45pm, Sat 6pm, Sun 4pm
All seats £12 (limited concessions available)
Runs approx 60 mins without interval

Tickets 0870 0600 777
online booking >

'Luminously inventive and magically silly. Impossible to resist.'
Melbourne Age

What if, one evening, the light in the moon went out and you had to find a replacement light bulb? Such is the dilemma posed in this surreal and hilarious adventure, a comic drama in circus arts,  magic, acrobatics, interactive film and riotous physical comedy for all ages.   American theatre clown and writer, Wolfe Bowart, has toured the world with this enchanting solo show,  and is also one half of acclaimed comic duo, The Shneedles. His many performed scripts for theatre,  tv and film include Sipapu, a play co-authored with Steve White of Blue Man Group. 

Post-show discussion Sat 27 Jan, chaired by Dick McCaw

Presented in association with SBC

PLUS Newbury Corn Exchange Sat 20 Jan 7.15pm
01635 522 733 www.cornexchangenew.com

www.lalaluna.com >

Zimmermann/de Perrot SWITZERLAND
Gaff Aff

Linbury Studio Theatre at the
Royal Opera House
Thu 25 to Sat 27 Jan
8pm
£10/£12/£15
£8 (Students and ROH access list)
Tickets 020 7304 4000
online booking >
Runs approx 60 mins without interval

'A marvel.' Le Temps

The world of these two Swiss performers revolves quite literally on a turntable. Rubber-limbed circus artist Martin Zimmermann spins his way around a day's existence, lived out in DJ Dimitri de Perrot's fabulous live soundscape. Each inspires the other's next move or sound. Consumer society being temporary and disposable, they work in a striking décor made of cardboard. Need a throwaway house, a chair, table or even a cat? All appear at the press of a thumb on a section of wall. A fascinating balance of power between characters, movement and music, Gaff Aff premiered at the Theatre Vidy in Lausanne in October 2006 and comes to London direct from a five week season in Paris. Martin and Dimitri have been working together since 1998. Martin trained at circus schools in France and Canada and has performed with French new circus troupe, Anomalie. Zurich Musician of the Year, Dimitri de Perrot, is one of Switzerland’s best-known live DJs and a successful composer for tv, theatre and film. They first appeared in London at LIMF03 with Gopf. UK premiere

Co-production:  Théâtre de Vidy-Lausanne E.T.E. Le Merlan, scène nationale à Marseille, Theater Chur

Post-show discussion: Fri 26 Jan, chaired by Dick McCaw

www.zimmermanndeperrot.com >

Buchinger's Boot Marionettes SPAIN
Vestibular Folds

Institute of Contemporary Arts
Fri 26 to Sun 28 Jan
Fri - Sat 8pm. Sun 6pm
£13 (£11 concs)

Tickets 020 7930 3647
online booking >
Runs approx 60 mins without interval

'With great artistry they convey extraordinary stories which resonate in our conscious and subconscious' Dresdner Anzeiger

Anarchic and outrageous in the best traditions of puppet theatre, Vestibular Folds involves the story of a tragic opera written by 19c marionettist, alchemist and dentist Ichabod Appleseed and its recording in a version designed to sound the same whether played forwards or in reverse. Founded in 2004 by Patrick Sims and Mafalda Camera and based in Spain, this new multi-national troupe use extraordinary puppets made from recycled materials - wood, metal, skin, bones, and glass. Radical, mysterious, mind-blowing images and the spirit of travelling showmen from a bygone age. UK Premiere

Post-show discussion: Sat 27 Jan, chaired by Dick McCaw

LIMF07 /Total Theatre Lecture
Speaker: John Fox

Institute of Contemporary Arts
Sat 20 Jan 3pm
£5.50 

Tickets 020 7930 3647
online booking >
Session runs approx 75 mins

John Fox is a prolific artist, printmaker, poet and essayist. He was co–founder and artistic  director of Welfare State International, the legendary arts company which, after 38 years of mayhem, he archived on April Fools Day 2006. WSI’s pioneering work in celebratory theatre, site specific events, community art, lantern parades, new ceremonies for rites of passage and building Lanternhouse, is documented in his book Eyes on Stalks (Methuen 2002). John Fox’s talk will focus on his new company Dead Good Guides. Founded with Sue Gill in Autumn'06, Dead Good Guides picks up where WSI left off, to focus on imaginative acts as a necessary way of side stepping the insanities of our society.

www.deadgoodguides.com >

Words, Signs and Vibes   UK

The Front Room at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
Sat 20 Jan 5.30pm

FREE

Enjoy songs from Oliver, Rent and other well known shows, transformed through sign language into a truly expressive and visual -  as well as musical - experience. Words, Signs & Vibes is a unique group of deaf and hearing young people (aged 13 - 18) from Birmingham, winners of a 2006 Wavemakers Award, aimed to encourage and empower children and young people to improve their lives, have their voices heard and make a positive difference to society.  

www.wavemakers.org.uk >

Workshops

Workshop bookings open on Monday 4th December

Bodyspace - Ron East
Sat 20 Jan 11.00am > 4.30pm

Discover your body in a theatrical space, your body and space, your physical presence. Discover your ‘thinking’ body, finding patterns and your creative imagination. Develop imagery through identification, body ’language’, animation and play in the theatrical space. Be moved. This is a one-day intensive introductory workshop to explore the physical in physical theatre.
Ron East is founder, director and principal instructor at the School of Physical Theatre, having trained as a performer and teacher at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris. 
Course fee: £50.00 (student conc £40.00)
Bookings: 44 (0) 20 8215 3350 Fax: 44 (0) 20 8215 3482
Email: school@physicaltheatre.com

Venue: School of Physical Theatre, Waterhouse Studio, 3 Mills Film Studios, Three Mill Lane, Bromley-by-Bow, London E3 3DU By Tube: District Line to Bromley-by-Bow station. Cross the carriageway to the far side, walk down the hill towards Tesco supermarket. The 3 Mills Film Complex is located behind Tesco (over the river Lea). Bring lunch and water www.physicaltheatre.com

Clown Through Mask - Jonathan Young
Mon 22 > Fri 26 Jan 10am > 5.30pm

A mask is magical because it reveals what is normally hidden. This intensive, playful week is an introduction to Richard Pochinko’s pioneering Clown Through Mask Work: a synthesis of Native North American and European clowning traditions. Through making and wearing masks that personify different aspects of our self, we fully embody our humanity – both ridiculous and beautiful. The personas and worlds discovered then act as a guide to us when performing, allowing us to go much further than we could alone. Over five days, we explore presence and colour, innocence and experience, with each person making, wearing and performing with their own mask.
The course will benefit both younger and more experienced performers (no prior knowledge of clowning needed), who are open to working through the body, voice and imagination. Jonathan Young (Shams Theatre) is an experienced teacher, performer and creator of devised work, and recently collaborated on Inspector Sands’ Hysteria.

Course Fee: £200 Bookings: 44 (0) 20 7733 2430 Email: info@shamstheatre.org.uk

Venue: The BRIX at St. Matthews Church, Brixton Hill SW2 Tube: Victoria Line to Brixton. Turn left out of the station and the church is a short distance, on the island between Effra Road and Brixton Hill.

www.shamstheatre.org.uk for more details

Creating Theatre - Thomas Prattki
Sat 27 > Sun 28 Jan
Group A 10am > 3.30pm Group B 4pm > 9.30pm

This two-day workshop will give an introduction into the dramatic use of time, rhythm and space. It is geared towards actors, dancers and other performing artists, attracted to the idea of creating their own theatre.
The workshop is taught by Thomas Prattki, founder and director of the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA) and former pedagogical director of the Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris.

Course Fee: £100.00 Bookings: 44 (0) 20 8969 7004
Email: welcome@lispa.co.uk

Venue: LISPA, Unit 8, Latimer Road, London W10 6RQ Tube: Hammersmith & City Line to Latimer Road station. Turn right out of the station and walk up Bramley Road. Turn left into Oxford Gardens; at the end, turn right into Latimer Road. LISPA is about half way down this road on the left, opposite Latimer Place. Directions and a printable map can be found at www.lispa.co.uk

The Mimefest blog

email us if you'd like to contribute

From Beccy Smith, dramaturg 20/11/06
I’m a big fan of the LIMF website: all those little cells which magically refresh themselves each year do a great job of communicating the vibrancy and energy of the programme. I can’t imagine another British festival whose promo shots, if combined, would create such a surreal and colourful smorgasbord. The website is always my first taste of the festival so it seems an appropriate place to start this blog, recording some experiences of my annual Mimefest fling - an overwhelming, passionate, and sometimes tempestuous relationship with a festival whose character is as transformative as its content.

This year I’m first attracted by the sure hand of an old master. The chance to see Philip Genty, whose name usually comes in conversations by people whose ideas I care about and respect in the context of ‘my god, I only realised what theatre could and should be when I saw the work of….’. A visual theatre God, not to mention hugely influential in contemporary British puppetry, his work will be worth seeing as a point of reference if nothing else. Were they all just assuming I’d never make it to France to check him out myself? (I do sometimes find there’s a tendency amongst contemporary British visual theatre makers to be wilfully obscure in their points of reference, you know they sort of thing ‘Really, to truly ‘get’ my work, you had to be in Prague in 1986’) But he should be warned, I’m setting my expectations high.

The energy and invention of a younger generation of course also has its part to play. I’m really pleased to see a couple of bright young British companies on the Board. And it’s work that I can whole heartedly recommend, because I’ve actually already seen it. The Factory is an utterly compelling call to arms, as passionate and intelligent a piece of political theatre that you’ll see, but told using the body, sound and staging in fantastically inventive ways. (Company Collisions also seem to be addressing an overtly political theme this time around – it’s great to see companies feeling able to tackle significant and complex issues through completely theatrical means). Hysteria is one of the most accomplished and complete pieces of devised drama I think I’ve seen. Very human, very English and very, very funny.

So aside from the confidence of age and the energy of youthful exuberance what else looks attractive? Well, what can be really thrilling in contemporary physical / visual theatre (a new moniker is surely due up soon?) is, from my perspective, originality of ideas. It’s all well and good being able to express a simple, honest romance using only juggling balls, or to play out classic clown dynamics at a 90degree angle but when it works, when it really works, the unusual form is the only way to express the content, and the ideas themselves are interesting and sound. At the moment, on first glance, my money for this race is on Rainpan 43 which looks like a classy reinvention of the joyous slapstick of silent movies. There’s so much going on in those old films, so many crucial discoveries were made, if this company can bring it together live and unadulterated it could make for a thrilling and very theatrically satisfying evening. These are first thoughts. Interestingly, I usually book tickets for the festival based entirely on first thoughts and all in one swallow. This year, as your electronic guide, I’m going to take a more measured approach, do a bit of research and some thinking. Am writing more, be back.

From Chris Hammond, vet 5/11/06

Well, this is one of the real treats of the year. It's only 2 or 3 months to the LIMF and I've got to start working out what to go and see.  That little window of sunshine and interest in the middle of winter.  Can't put my finger on what it is about mime that is so intriguing and captivating, but it's there. Perhaps it's the expression of emotion through movement, the same that happens with dance and ballet, perhaps it just makes you think and look at things in a different way .... I suppose my first job is to work out what to take 'er indoors and the children to see as part of the Christmas/New Year fun package.  Hmm ... that's tricky - it's gotta be exciting and intriguing and interesting ... I first took some of the family to BP Zoom - you didn't see that I suppose? It was a few years ago. But boy, did I win my Favourite Uncle stripes that year. They loved it. And then I took my own adopted family for the first time last year to see Circus Ronaldo. There was a bit of flop-footed resistance at first to my taking them, but by the time we'd had all the magic of mime, the pathos and comic action, the spinning pizzas instead of spinning plates I had won them all round ... gabbling about it all the way home and for days afterwards too. So what to choose for the family outing? - it looks like either Wolfe Bowart /La La Luna or Mathurin Bolze/Tangentes. I think they both look brilliant, Mathurin Bolze will probably be dazzling and stunning but I think Wolfe Bowart might just have that extra bit of magic to enchant children. So I'll probably take them to "La La Luna" (but ending up going to both to treat myself!) So what else am I going to take myself off to? High on my list are things to make me laugh or give me a sense of wonder and surprise. I reckon Rainpan 43/All Wear Bowlers is going to have me both intrigued and in stitches, so that's a must. And then Compagnie Phillipe Genty/Le Fin des Terres will have me in awe and impressed. Apart from the family-type mime shows of pure enjoyment, these are the shows I really like as they make you think outside your everyday existence. And then of course I'll have to do one or two of the "eat-your-greens" mime shows - you'll not necessarily come away as much feeling you've had a ball, you might even be a bit down or feel a bit funny from them, but you're glad you went because they were fascinating and perhaps a bit challenging. But I'm still a bit conservative on that front so I'll probably go for Jean Baptiste Andre/Comme en Plein Jour and Inspector Sands/Hysteria cos I reckon they'll be enjoyable as well as being a bit interesting and challenging! And lastly I'm wondering about going to the Josef Houben/Art of Laughter - which almost sounds a bit like a lecture-demonstration and if so should be quite fascinating. Help me understand the theory of mime and comedy. Perhaps give me a few ideas to try out on friends .... hmm ....