MimeLondon first season
Contemporary visual theatre returns to London this winter with a new collaborative project between MimeLondon and a number of venues in the capital
MimeLondon – Ockham's Razor, Tess Photo: Kie Cummings
Dismay greeted the news, just under a year ago, that after 47 years of award-winning success, during which it built a loyal following, the annual London International Mime Festival, LIMF, would be no more.
However, LIMF followers now have something to celebrate and look forward to: MimeLondon. It's a new project, created by LIMF directors Helen Lannaghan and Joseph Seelig in collaboration with Sadler's Wells, the National Theatre, Barbican and Shoreditch Town Hall, and throughout the darkest days of the year it will bring a series of the best in international contemporary visual theatre to London.
The full programme consists of eight shows, including some Culture Whisper favourites, workshops and discussions. Full details here.
Here's Culture Whisper's selection of four must-see shows:
• Ockham Razor, Tess (pictured top): Peacock Theatre, Wednesday 31 January to Saturday 3 February 2024 at 7:30pm, Sat at 5pm. Dur.: 2 hours and 30 mins inc one interval. Tickets and info here. Age Guidance: 12+
The UK contemporary circus and physical theatre company, Ockham Razor, presents its ground-breaking adaptation of Thomas Hardy's famous novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Against a background of projections, the cast climb shifting walls and move through ropes to evoke the vast landscapes of Hardy's Wessex and tell a story of power, loss and endurance.
• Stereoptik, Antechamber – Barbican Pit, Tuesday 30 January to Saturday 3 February 2024 at 7:45pm, Sat mat at 2:30pm. Dur.: 50 mins no interval. Tickets and info here
Stereoptik, Antechamber. Photo: Richard Schroeder
France's Stereoptik mesmerises by demonstrating how an animation film is created and takes flight. One designer traces his drawing on a table, and this is projected onto a large screen. An eraser effaces the drawing, but others follow and gradually a moving urban love story evolves amid dreams of the Amazonian jungle, accompanied by live keyboard and guitar.
• Vamos Theatre, Boy on the Roof, Shoreditch Town Hall, Thursday 1 to Sunday 4 February 2024 at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm. Dur.: 70 mins. Tickets and info here. Age Guidance: 12+
Vamos Theatre, Boy on the Roof. Photo: Graeme Braidwood
Vamos Theatre actors have a special talent for conveying emotion through expert body language, so much so that they even make their papier mâché masks appear expressive. In Boy on the Roof they tell of the moving and unlikely cross-generation friendship between two people who feel lonely and misunderstood. Take plenty of tissues…
• Gecko, KIN, National Theatre, Friday 12 to Saturday 27 January 2024 at 7:30pm, Wed & Sat mats at 2:15pm. Dur.: 90 mins no interval. Info and tickets here. Age Guidance: 14+
Gecko, KIN. Photo: Mark Sepple
In a hard-hitting piece of physical theatre, the award-winning company Gecko presents an exploration of themes of racism, family, migration and home. The piece is inspired by the migration stories of Gecko's international performers, and company director Amit Lahav's own grandmother's extraordinary voyage in the 1930s.
However, LIMF followers now have something to celebrate and look forward to: MimeLondon. It's a new project, created by LIMF directors Helen Lannaghan and Joseph Seelig in collaboration with Sadler's Wells, the National Theatre, Barbican and Shoreditch Town Hall, and throughout the darkest days of the year it will bring a series of the best in international contemporary visual theatre to London.
The full programme consists of eight shows, including some Culture Whisper favourites, workshops and discussions. Full details here.
Here's Culture Whisper's selection of four must-see shows:
• Ockham Razor, Tess (pictured top): Peacock Theatre, Wednesday 31 January to Saturday 3 February 2024 at 7:30pm, Sat at 5pm. Dur.: 2 hours and 30 mins inc one interval. Tickets and info here. Age Guidance: 12+
The UK contemporary circus and physical theatre company, Ockham Razor, presents its ground-breaking adaptation of Thomas Hardy's famous novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles. Against a background of projections, the cast climb shifting walls and move through ropes to evoke the vast landscapes of Hardy's Wessex and tell a story of power, loss and endurance.
• Stereoptik, Antechamber – Barbican Pit, Tuesday 30 January to Saturday 3 February 2024 at 7:45pm, Sat mat at 2:30pm. Dur.: 50 mins no interval. Tickets and info here
Stereoptik, Antechamber. Photo: Richard Schroeder
France's Stereoptik mesmerises by demonstrating how an animation film is created and takes flight. One designer traces his drawing on a table, and this is projected onto a large screen. An eraser effaces the drawing, but others follow and gradually a moving urban love story evolves amid dreams of the Amazonian jungle, accompanied by live keyboard and guitar.
• Vamos Theatre, Boy on the Roof, Shoreditch Town Hall, Thursday 1 to Sunday 4 February 2024 at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2:30pm. Dur.: 70 mins. Tickets and info here. Age Guidance: 12+
Vamos Theatre, Boy on the Roof. Photo: Graeme Braidwood
Vamos Theatre actors have a special talent for conveying emotion through expert body language, so much so that they even make their papier mâché masks appear expressive. In Boy on the Roof they tell of the moving and unlikely cross-generation friendship between two people who feel lonely and misunderstood. Take plenty of tissues…
• Gecko, KIN, National Theatre, Friday 12 to Saturday 27 January 2024 at 7:30pm, Wed & Sat mats at 2:15pm. Dur.: 90 mins no interval. Info and tickets here. Age Guidance: 14+
Gecko, KIN. Photo: Mark Sepple
In a hard-hitting piece of physical theatre, the award-winning company Gecko presents an exploration of themes of racism, family, migration and home. The piece is inspired by the migration stories of Gecko's international performers, and company director Amit Lahav's own grandmother's extraordinary voyage in the 1930s.
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| What | MimeLondon first season |
| When |
12 Jan 24 – 17 Feb 24, Start Times and Dur.; vary according to show and venue |
| Price | £18-£45 |
| Website | https://mimelondon.com/2024-about-mimelondon/ |