Never Better was brought to our attention through a call for works with the Live Art Development Agency. This is an extract from a live performance with audio track, which was developed for short film. The work has previously been performed at Camden People’s Theatre, Corsica Studios and The Basement in Brighton.

In Marcus’ own words, Never Better is, “A new media production inspired by Endgame by Samuel Beckett, with a focus on wordplay and choreography”.

To see more of Marcus’ work, visit:
Marcus’ YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/user/lostmyshoes80
Marcus’ Ideas Tap page.

A few days ago I received an e-flyer about the forthcoming contemporary visual theatre festival, the London International Mime Festival. I hadn’t come across the festival before so I thought I’d look into it and I found this fantastic work by Les Antliaclastes. I’m no expert in this area so I won’t say any more about it, but I hope you enjoy the film.

Hilum part I (1+2) from franck littot on Vimeo.

Here is the description from the London International Mime Festival website:

“A micro comic-tragedy based on the cycles of the washing machine and set in the basement of a rundown museum of natural history. Orphaned and cut off from the ordered kingdom of curiosities upstairs, the cast of nursery rhyme characters, cartoon images, and mischievous urchins turn playtime into a theatre of cruelty. Whites mix with colours, delicates get hot washed, and a monstrous big toe devours holes in the socks.

Conceived and directed by Patrick Sims, formerly creative director of Buchinger’s Boot Marionettes whose Armature of the Absolute was a sold out hit at the Festival in 2009. Hilum – a miniature fantasy-land, distorting and disturbing, is his new company’s debut performance.”

If you like the video footage above, you can see the whole of the piece live at the festival from Sat 22nd – Wed 26th January at the ICA Theatre, London. For further details, please visit the festival website: http://www.mimefest.co.uk/antliaclastes-2011.html

If you would like to find out more about Les Antliaclastes and Patrick Sims, please visit the info page on this website: Sims, Patrick – Info

You can see more footage of Hilum on vimeo

As a final aside, whilst investigating the festival, I also came across a couple of other pieces on the programme that I think are worthy of note:

• Du Goudron et des Plumes – Compagnie MPTA / Mathurin Bolze: A photo slideshow of the piece is available to see on YouTube
• Tempesta – Anagoor: A preview is available for this piece, again, on YouTube (contains nudity)

London International Mime Festival runs from 15th-30th January, 2011.