Nola Rae
WORKSHOP
LIMF’21 hosted a series of free online talks, featuring artists chatting about specific shows, or more generally about their work and inspiration. These talks will remain in our archive for you to enjoy. Just click follow the links below to watch them. Closed captions are available
Main Image: Gandini Juggling Smashed: Special Edition Photo © Ryoko Uyama
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In 1976, British mime-clown Nola Rae suggested to Joseph Seelig, then manager of London's Cockpit Theatre that they create a festival of visual and physical theatre like those that she knew existed on the continent. Originally intended as a means of attracting media attention and thus bigger audiences for these styles of performance, the first festival in 1977 was a huge success and LIMF has now been running for 44 years, becoming a post-Christmas tradition, the first theatre ‘event' of the New Year. Nola and Joseph will talk about how it all began.
Nola Rae MBE was born in Sydney. She migrated with her family to London in 1963 and trained at the Royal Ballet School. She danced professionally in Sweden and at the Tivoli Pantomime Theatre in Denmark before studying mime with Marcel Marceau in Paris. She co-founded French-based International Research Troupe Kiss, and Friends Roadshow with Jango Edwards, and was a member of the Bristol Old Vic Company. In 1974 she founded her company London Mime Theatre with Matthew Ridout. Since her first solo performance at the Festival du Monde in 1976 she has created twelve full-length shows and toured to more than sixty countries worldwide. She is also in demand as a director, acclaimed for turning classic tragedies into clown theatre. She has been the subject of two television documentaries and has received a Total Theatre Lifetime Achievement Award, the Charlie Rivel Award for Clowning, and was inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame in the United States in 2000.
Joseph Seelig OBE co-founded international arts management company, Hetherington Seelig in 1980, after seven years as manager/programmer of The Cockpit Theatre. He has been an artists’ manager, artistic adviser, theatre and opera producer, and been closely involved with various other festivals throughout his career including the Hong Kong Arts Festival as international programme director and the New Zealand Festival as artistic director. He is chair of Birmingham’s BE Festival and co-founder/chair of HQ Theatres Trust.
Nola’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
1977 Some Great Fools from History, The Cockpit
1978 Some Great Fools from History, The Cockpit
1980 Some Great Fools from History, Jacksons Lane
1981 Prime Cuts + Futurefool, The Cockpit & Place Theatre
1982 Double-Up (with Chris Harris), Place Theatre
1984 Upper Cuts, Shaw Theatre
1985 The Urge, Shaw Theatre
1987 Mime Gala, The Bloomsbury Theatre
1988 Bottom of the Garden & Other Twisted Tales, Place Theatre
1991 Elizabeth’s Last Stand, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
1994 And the Ship Sailed On (with Sally Owen), Battersea Arts
Centre 1999 Mozart Preposteroso! The Pleasance Theatre
2005 Exit Napoleon… Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
2008 Mozart Preposteroso! Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
Nola Rae MBE was born in Sydney. She migrated with her family to London in 1963 and trained at the Royal Ballet School. She danced professionally in Sweden and at the Tivoli Pantomime Theatre in Denmark before studying mime with Marcel Marceau in Paris. She co-founded French-based International Research Troupe Kiss, and Friends Roadshow with Jango Edwards, and was a member of the Bristol Old Vic Company. In 1974 she founded her company London Mime Theatre with Matthew Ridout. Since her first solo performance at the Festival du Monde in 1976 she has created twelve full-length shows and toured to more than sixty countries worldwide. She is also in demand as a director, acclaimed for turning classic tragedies into clown theatre. She has been the subject of two television documentaries and has received a Total Theatre Lifetime Achievement Award, the Charlie Rivel Award for Clowning, and was inducted into the International Clown Hall of Fame in the United States in 2000.
Joseph Seelig OBE co-founded international arts management company, Hetherington Seelig in 1980, after seven years as manager/programmer of The Cockpit Theatre. He has been an artists’ manager, artistic adviser, theatre and opera producer, and been closely involved with various other festivals throughout his career including the Hong Kong Arts Festival as international programme director and the New Zealand Festival as artistic director. He is chair of Birmingham’s BE Festival and co-founder/chair of HQ Theatres Trust.
Nola’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
1977 Some Great Fools from History, The Cockpit
1978 Some Great Fools from History, The Cockpit
1980 Some Great Fools from History, Jacksons Lane
1981 Prime Cuts + Futurefool, The Cockpit & Place Theatre
1982 Double-Up (with Chris Harris), Place Theatre
1984 Upper Cuts, Shaw Theatre
1985 The Urge, Shaw Theatre
1987 Mime Gala, The Bloomsbury Theatre
1988 Bottom of the Garden & Other Twisted Tales, Place Theatre
1991 Elizabeth’s Last Stand, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
1994 And the Ship Sailed On (with Sally Owen), Battersea Arts
Centre 1999 Mozart Preposteroso! The Pleasance Theatre
2005 Exit Napoleon… Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
2008 Mozart Preposteroso! Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
FAMILIE FLÖZ
Creative Process and the Role of the mask
75-minute illustrated talkRecorded Tue 19 Jan 7pm
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Berlin-based company Familie Flöz has been making theatre with masks for more than 20 years. In this time, it has become a popular favourite at the Mime Festival with Teatro Delusio (2005 & 2017), Ristorante Immortale (2006), Hotel Paradiso (2009) and Infinita (2016).
Over the years, the ensemble has developed hundreds of characters for its shows, the result of a collaborative process that has produced entertaining stories crossing all language barriers.
From the very beginnings of European theatre, the mask and its transformation from rigid object to eloquent means of communication has played an important role; Familie Flöz' use of mask as an essential, vital element in the creative process is part of this long-established tradition.
In a 90-minute lecture, the company gives insights into its creative process and the role of the mask.
Familie Flöz’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
2005 Teatro Delusio, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
2006 Ristorante Immortale, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
2009 Hotel Paradiso, Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall
2016 Infinita, The Peacock (Sadler’s Wells)
2017 Teatro Delusio, The Peacock (Sadler’s Wells)
From the very beginnings of European theatre, the mask and its transformation from rigid object to eloquent means of communication has played an important role; Familie Flöz' use of mask as an essential, vital element in the creative process is part of this long-established tradition.
In a 90-minute lecture, the company gives insights into its creative process and the role of the mask.
Familie Flöz’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
2005 Teatro Delusio, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
2006 Ristorante Immortale, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
2009 Hotel Paradiso, Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall
2016 Infinita, The Peacock (Sadler’s Wells)
2017 Teatro Delusio, The Peacock (Sadler’s Wells)
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Gandini Juggling has made nine appearances at the festival since 1994. In this conversation, Sean will focus on two of these shows in particular, Smashed: Special Edition and Spring, both co-commissioned by LIMF.
In 2017, to celebrate LIMF’s 40th anniversary, the company opened the festival at Sadler’s Wells’ The Peacock with a revised version of its internationally recognised hit, Smashed. Originally commissioned by the National Theatre’s outdoor Watch This Space Festival for 9 performers, Sean re-imagined it for a cast of 26 to include jugglers, a string quartet and mezzo-soprano, Emma Carrington. Inspired by the work of Pina Bausch, Smashed: Special Edition had guidance from her long-time leading dancer and choreographer, Dominique Mercy, who had seen the outdoor version of the show in Paris and loved it.
In 2019, the company made its Sadler’s Wells main stage debut with Spring, a collaboration with Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associate Alexander Whitley, a cast of five jugglers, four contemporary dancers, and featuring special guest juggling wunderkind, Wes Peden, accompanied by a score by Gabriel Prokofiev, performed live, and lighting by Guy Hoare.
Videos of both shows are available to view 18-31 Jan 2021 on LIMF’s YouTube channel.
Thomas Wilson is Co-Programme Director, BA (Hons) European Theatre Arts, Rose Bruford College. He is the author of Juggling Trajectories: Gandini Juggling 1991-2015 exploring the company’s first 25 years.
Gandini Juggling’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
1994 nEither Either botH aNd, Battersea Arts Centre
2004 Duet/Quartet, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
2008 Downfall, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
2012 Smashed, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
2013 Smashed, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
2015 4x4, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
2017 Smashed: Special Edition, The Peacock, Sadler’s Wells
2018 Sigma, Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells
2019 Spring, Sadler’s Wells
In 2017, to celebrate LIMF’s 40th anniversary, the company opened the festival at Sadler’s Wells’ The Peacock with a revised version of its internationally recognised hit, Smashed. Originally commissioned by the National Theatre’s outdoor Watch This Space Festival for 9 performers, Sean re-imagined it for a cast of 26 to include jugglers, a string quartet and mezzo-soprano, Emma Carrington. Inspired by the work of Pina Bausch, Smashed: Special Edition had guidance from her long-time leading dancer and choreographer, Dominique Mercy, who had seen the outdoor version of the show in Paris and loved it.
In 2019, the company made its Sadler’s Wells main stage debut with Spring, a collaboration with Sadler’s Wells New Wave Associate Alexander Whitley, a cast of five jugglers, four contemporary dancers, and featuring special guest juggling wunderkind, Wes Peden, accompanied by a score by Gabriel Prokofiev, performed live, and lighting by Guy Hoare.
Videos of both shows are available to view 18-31 Jan 2021 on LIMF’s YouTube channel.
Thomas Wilson is Co-Programme Director, BA (Hons) European Theatre Arts, Rose Bruford College. He is the author of Juggling Trajectories: Gandini Juggling 1991-2015 exploring the company’s first 25 years.
Gandini Juggling’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
1994 nEither Either botH aNd, Battersea Arts Centre
2004 Duet/Quartet, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
2008 Downfall, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
2012 Smashed, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
2013 Smashed, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
2015 4x4, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
2017 Smashed: Special Edition, The Peacock, Sadler’s Wells
2018 Sigma, Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells
2019 Spring, Sadler’s Wells
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Based in Worcester, Vamos Theatre is the UK’s leading full mask theatre company. Known for its funny and fearless approach to theatre making, the company has created four co-productions with London International Mime Festival, covering subject matters as diverse - and potentially dark - as dementia (Finding Joy), forced adoption (The Best Thing), post-traumatic stress (A Brave Face) and end of life (Dead Good) with wit and humanity.
Empathy and human connection are at the heart of the company’s theatre making, with each production aiming to give a voice to those least listened to. A Vamos Theatre show takes around two years to create, involves wide-ranging research and consultation, and is made with input from people from all walks of life closest to the subject matter - nothing about us without us. The final show is developed through a process of writing and devising unique to the company’s full mask theatre style.
Artistic Director, Rachael Savage, presents this talk on the company’s creative process, with chance for questions and answers. She discusses making theatre from life stories, mask theatre’s ability to encourage empathy, the importance of social responsibility and the skills that make an effective full mask theatre performer.
Vamos Theatre’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
2014 Finding Joy, Jacksons Lane
2016 The Best Thing, Jacksons Lane
2018 A Brave Face, Jacksons Lane
2020 Dead Good, Jacksons Lane
Empathy and human connection are at the heart of the company’s theatre making, with each production aiming to give a voice to those least listened to. A Vamos Theatre show takes around two years to create, involves wide-ranging research and consultation, and is made with input from people from all walks of life closest to the subject matter - nothing about us without us. The final show is developed through a process of writing and devising unique to the company’s full mask theatre style.
Artistic Director, Rachael Savage, presents this talk on the company’s creative process, with chance for questions and answers. She discusses making theatre from life stories, mask theatre’s ability to encourage empathy, the importance of social responsibility and the skills that make an effective full mask theatre performer.
Vamos Theatre’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
2014 Finding Joy, Jacksons Lane
2016 The Best Thing, Jacksons Lane
2018 A Brave Face, Jacksons Lane
2020 Dead Good, Jacksons Lane
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Jos Houben discusses his career in physical comedy and shares some insights into the mysteries of what makes us laugh.
Belgian actor-director Jos Houben has been performing and directing physical theatre and comedy for the last 30 years. His classic lecture-demonstration The Art of Laughter, also available to watch online during LIMF’21, is the most performed show in LIMF’s history, with four appearances between 2007-2016. One of the early members of Theatre de Complicité, appearing at LIMF in A Minute Too Late, Jos has worked with many different artists and organisations including Peter Brook, the National Theatre, Opera North, Georges Aperghis, the Opéra Comique, and on many occasions with The Right Size. Jos originally trained at Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris, where he now teaches between a busy schedule of performance and directing engagements.
Jos Houben’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
1985 A Minute Too Late, with Theatre de Complicité, ICA Theatre
1987 A Minute Too Late, Waterman’s Arts Centre
1988 Theatre de Complicité & Guests, Shaw Theatre
1994 A Minute Too Late, Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall
1998 Quatre Mains, with Andrew Dawson, ICA Theatre
2007 The Art of Laughter, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
2008 The Art of Laughter, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
2011 The Art of Laughter, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
2016 The Art of Laughter, Shaw Theatre 2016 Marcel, with Marcelo Magni, Shaw Theatre
2020 A Fundamental Journey, Ecole Jacques Lecoq, Central School of Speech & Drama
2021 The Art of Laughter, online
Belgian actor-director Jos Houben has been performing and directing physical theatre and comedy for the last 30 years. His classic lecture-demonstration The Art of Laughter, also available to watch online during LIMF’21, is the most performed show in LIMF’s history, with four appearances between 2007-2016. One of the early members of Theatre de Complicité, appearing at LIMF in A Minute Too Late, Jos has worked with many different artists and organisations including Peter Brook, the National Theatre, Opera North, Georges Aperghis, the Opéra Comique, and on many occasions with The Right Size. Jos originally trained at Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris, where he now teaches between a busy schedule of performance and directing engagements.
Jos Houben’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
1985 A Minute Too Late, with Theatre de Complicité, ICA Theatre
1987 A Minute Too Late, Waterman’s Arts Centre
1988 Theatre de Complicité & Guests, Shaw Theatre
1994 A Minute Too Late, Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall
1998 Quatre Mains, with Andrew Dawson, ICA Theatre
2007 The Art of Laughter, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
2008 The Art of Laughter, Southbank Centre’s Purcell Room
2011 The Art of Laughter, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
2016 The Art of Laughter, Shaw Theatre 2016 Marcel, with Marcelo Magni, Shaw Theatre
2020 A Fundamental Journey, Ecole Jacques Lecoq, Central School of Speech & Drama
2021 The Art of Laughter, online
ELEANOR PERRY &
DANIEL HAY-GORDON
in conversation with each other
45-minute talk
Recorded Mon 25 Jan 7pm
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Thick & Tight are a British dance company whose award-winning work has been shown extensively in the UK and beyond. Founded in the technical rigour of ballet & contemporary dance, their work incorporates mime and drag, playing with ideas of humour, gender, characterisation, sexuality, surrealism and satire, influenced by a wide range of historical, political, literary and artistic subjects. Thick & Tight are interested in promoting queer culture and accessibility within dance and exploring dance as a political art form with the power to challenge and dispel social stigma.
Co-directors Daniel Hay-Gordon and Eleanor Perry trained together at the Rambert School. In 2012 they began making short, small-scale works and have gone on to present their shows at high-profile venues including Sadler's Wells as part of London International Mime Festival, Southbank Centre, the Royal Opera House, Aldeburgh Music Festival, Tate Britain, The Place, Tate Liverpool and Wilton's Music Hall, as well as in queer venues, family festivals and charity fundraisers. Their work continually investigates a range of LGBTQ+ issues and figures, current queer culture and its link to dance. At the heart of their practice, they develop their choreography, storytelling and teachings in relation to these issues with a hope to keep developing positive narratives within the dance ecology and beyond.
As part of their conversation, they will discuss the making of the two videos available for viewing during LIMF’21, Pink Narcissus and Queen Have and Miss Haven’t.
Thick & Tight’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
2019 A Night with Thick & Tight, Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells
2020 Romancing the Apocalypse, Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells
Co-directors Daniel Hay-Gordon and Eleanor Perry trained together at the Rambert School. In 2012 they began making short, small-scale works and have gone on to present their shows at high-profile venues including Sadler's Wells as part of London International Mime Festival, Southbank Centre, the Royal Opera House, Aldeburgh Music Festival, Tate Britain, The Place, Tate Liverpool and Wilton's Music Hall, as well as in queer venues, family festivals and charity fundraisers. Their work continually investigates a range of LGBTQ+ issues and figures, current queer culture and its link to dance. At the heart of their practice, they develop their choreography, storytelling and teachings in relation to these issues with a hope to keep developing positive narratives within the dance ecology and beyond.
As part of their conversation, they will discuss the making of the two videos available for viewing during LIMF’21, Pink Narcissus and Queen Have and Miss Haven’t.
Thick & Tight’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
2019 A Night with Thick & Tight, Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells
2020 Romancing the Apocalypse, Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells
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Étienne Decroux is considered to be one the key theatre reformers and teachers of the last century along with such others as Copeau, Stanislavski and Meyerhold. He is at the origin of a theatre tradition - some even say an art form - that is unequalled in western theatre history and one that is as rich, complex and layered as ballet, and comparable to Eastern art forms such as Noh Theatre. It is called Corporeal Mime.
This interactive seminar will look at Étienne Decroux, the man, and explore the meaning of Corporeal Mime and its huge importance in the context of contemporary theatre-making.
Guillaume Pigé is an actor, director, mime and magician. Originally from France, he has been living in the UK for the past 13 years. He established Theatre Re in 2011 and has directed each of the company's productions to date. He trained with theatre makers and directors such as Andrew Visnesvski, Steven Wasson, Corinne Soum, Daniel Stein and Thomas Leabhart. Rooted in Étienne Decroux's Corporeal Mime, his practice takes inspiration from science, philosophy, psychology and public health to address global human challenges through moving and visually striking poetic theatre. His work was performed in more than fifteen countries, notably at The Cerventino Festival (Mexico), Hong Kong Arts Festival (China), New Victory Theater (USA), National Taichung Theatre (Taiwan) and London International Mime Festival (UK). He is an associate artist at The Point in Eastleigh, an associate teacher at RADA and head of devising at Fourth Monkey Actor Training Company. He is regularly invited to give workshops throughout the UK and internationally.
Theatre Re’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
2015 Blind Man’s Song, Jacksons Lane
2017 The Nature of Forgetting, Shoreditch Town Hall
2019 Birth, Shoreditch Town Hall
This interactive seminar will look at Étienne Decroux, the man, and explore the meaning of Corporeal Mime and its huge importance in the context of contemporary theatre-making.
Guillaume Pigé is an actor, director, mime and magician. Originally from France, he has been living in the UK for the past 13 years. He established Theatre Re in 2011 and has directed each of the company's productions to date. He trained with theatre makers and directors such as Andrew Visnesvski, Steven Wasson, Corinne Soum, Daniel Stein and Thomas Leabhart. Rooted in Étienne Decroux's Corporeal Mime, his practice takes inspiration from science, philosophy, psychology and public health to address global human challenges through moving and visually striking poetic theatre. His work was performed in more than fifteen countries, notably at The Cerventino Festival (Mexico), Hong Kong Arts Festival (China), New Victory Theater (USA), National Taichung Theatre (Taiwan) and London International Mime Festival (UK). He is an associate artist at The Point in Eastleigh, an associate teacher at RADA and head of devising at Fourth Monkey Actor Training Company. He is regularly invited to give workshops throughout the UK and internationally.
Theatre Re’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
2015 Blind Man’s Song, Jacksons Lane
2017 The Nature of Forgetting, Shoreditch Town Hall
2019 Birth, Shoreditch Town Hall
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Jacqui Beckford is a London-based British Sign Language interpreter with 25 years’ experience across the performing arts. She spent 11 years working as an ‘in-vision’ interpreter in TV broadcast, mainly for BBC News 24. Jacqui has had a long relationship with the Mime Festival and you may have seen her work in recent years with Blind Summit, Jos Houben, Kiss & Cry and Peeping Tom.
Her signing of of the song Nothing Compares 2U was one of the most viewed videos in LIMF'21's online edition. You can find it here >
Her signing of of the song Nothing Compares 2U was one of the most viewed videos in LIMF'21's online edition. You can find it here >
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Paul Hunter is a British actor and Director who trained at Middlesex Polytechnic where he met Hayley Carmichael and John Wright, with whom he formed Told by an Idiot in 1993. For the past twenty seven years their work has been seen from Coventry to Caracas, from Bradford to Beijing. Paul has been involved in all of it, including On The Verge Of Exploding and The Strange Tale Of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel both of which featured at LIMF.
Other theatre includes Wise Children (Old Vic), The Life Of Galileo (Young Vic) and The Play What I Wrote (West End). Directing includes: The Mouse and His Child (RSC), Senora Carras Rifles (Young Vic) and Every Last Trick (Spymonkey).
TBAI’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
1994 On the Verge of Exploding (John Wright Company), Battersea Arts Centre
1995 An Evening with the Bondress, Battersea Arts Centre
1998 Don’t Laugh, It’s My Life, Battersea Arts Centre
1999 I Weep at My Piano, Battersea Arts Centre
2001 A Little Fantasy, Battersea Arts Centre
2003 A Little Fantasy, Soho Theatre
2004 I’m A Fool to Want You, Battersea Arts Centre
2020 The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin & Stan Laurel, Wilton’s Music Hall
Other theatre includes Wise Children (Old Vic), The Life Of Galileo (Young Vic) and The Play What I Wrote (West End). Directing includes: The Mouse and His Child (RSC), Senora Carras Rifles (Young Vic) and Every Last Trick (Spymonkey).
TBAI’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
1994 On the Verge of Exploding (John Wright Company), Battersea Arts Centre
1995 An Evening with the Bondress, Battersea Arts Centre
1998 Don’t Laugh, It’s My Life, Battersea Arts Centre
1999 I Weep at My Piano, Battersea Arts Centre
2001 A Little Fantasy, Battersea Arts Centre
2003 A Little Fantasy, Soho Theatre
2004 I’m A Fool to Want You, Battersea Arts Centre
2020 The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin & Stan Laurel, Wilton’s Music Hall
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Amit Lahav is the Artistic Director and founder of Gecko. He was born in Israel and grew up in London where he trained with theatre and dance creators including Lindsay Kemp, and David Glass with whom he spent four years in South-east Asia working as a facilitator making theatre with street children.
Shortly after returning to the UK he formed his own company, Gecko. Its shows are created in the UK with an international ensemble and tour world-wide. Amit’s methodology emphasises emotion, physicality, metaphor, breath and musicality, developed in a unique language of training, performance, devising and teaching which is used to generate relationships around the globe. Amit has created seven critically acclaimed Gecko shows; Taylor’s Dummies, The Race, The Arab and the Jew, The Overcoat, Missing, Institute and The Wedding, all of which have toured nationally and overseas. In 2015, Amit created and performed in The Time of Your Life, broadcast live on BBC4 as part of Live from Television Centre, followed in 2020 by a feature film version of Institute as part of BBC Arts Culture in Quarantine. Gecko is currently in the process of developing its own creation space on Ipswich’s Waterfront, where the company is based. Shôn Dale-Jones is a producer, director, performer and writer. He was Artistic Director of Hoipolloi from 1994 to 2020. Over this 25-year period he created 24 stage plays, 5 BBC radio dramas, 3 site-specific pieces, a few short films and various online projects. His work has been presented in over 200 UK venues, 9 London theatres, in 20 countries across 6 continents and has been translated into 7 languages. Partners he has worked with include the BBC, Barbican, Royal Court, Sydney Opera House and Meyerhold Theatre, Moscow. His work has been supported by Arts Council England, The British Council and National Theatre Studios. He is the winner of BBC Audio Drama Award; Edinburgh Fringe First Award (2); Total Theatre Award and has been nominated for a Prix Europa. Most recently he created The Loose Change Trilogy - The Duke, Me & Robin Hood, The Ladder - which raised almost £100,000 for vulnerable children, supporting the work of Save The Children and Street Child United. He is currently working with Ontroerend Goed in Belgium; writing a show for teenagers for Brageteatret in Norway; collaborating with Metis Arts on Love Letters to a Liveable Future and creating a new solo show for National Theatre Wales.
Gecko’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
2004 The Race, Battersea Arts Centre
2005 The Race, Battersea Arts Centre
2008 The Arab and the Jew, Studio Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith
2014 Missing, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
2015 Institute, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
2019 The Wedding, Barbican Theatre
Shortly after returning to the UK he formed his own company, Gecko. Its shows are created in the UK with an international ensemble and tour world-wide. Amit’s methodology emphasises emotion, physicality, metaphor, breath and musicality, developed in a unique language of training, performance, devising and teaching which is used to generate relationships around the globe. Amit has created seven critically acclaimed Gecko shows; Taylor’s Dummies, The Race, The Arab and the Jew, The Overcoat, Missing, Institute and The Wedding, all of which have toured nationally and overseas. In 2015, Amit created and performed in The Time of Your Life, broadcast live on BBC4 as part of Live from Television Centre, followed in 2020 by a feature film version of Institute as part of BBC Arts Culture in Quarantine. Gecko is currently in the process of developing its own creation space on Ipswich’s Waterfront, where the company is based. Shôn Dale-Jones is a producer, director, performer and writer. He was Artistic Director of Hoipolloi from 1994 to 2020. Over this 25-year period he created 24 stage plays, 5 BBC radio dramas, 3 site-specific pieces, a few short films and various online projects. His work has been presented in over 200 UK venues, 9 London theatres, in 20 countries across 6 continents and has been translated into 7 languages. Partners he has worked with include the BBC, Barbican, Royal Court, Sydney Opera House and Meyerhold Theatre, Moscow. His work has been supported by Arts Council England, The British Council and National Theatre Studios. He is the winner of BBC Audio Drama Award; Edinburgh Fringe First Award (2); Total Theatre Award and has been nominated for a Prix Europa. Most recently he created The Loose Change Trilogy - The Duke, Me & Robin Hood, The Ladder - which raised almost £100,000 for vulnerable children, supporting the work of Save The Children and Street Child United. He is currently working with Ontroerend Goed in Belgium; writing a show for teenagers for Brageteatret in Norway; collaborating with Metis Arts on Love Letters to a Liveable Future and creating a new solo show for National Theatre Wales.
Gecko’s appearances in London International Mime Festival:
2004 The Race, Battersea Arts Centre
2005 The Race, Battersea Arts Centre
2008 The Arab and the Jew, Studio Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith
2014 Missing, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
2015 Institute, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House
2019 The Wedding, Barbican Theatre