Tag: England
If I weren’t in Costa Rica right now I’d be seriously wishing I were in London. Even if you’ve never been and might never go, it’s good to know that the London International Mime Festival is now entering its 40th year. Since its inception in 1977, the festival has gone way beyond mime to encompass circus, clown, physical theatre, mask work, puppetry, and more. In the process, it has not only popularized a lot of deserving movement-oriented work, but has opened eyes outside the already converted. As the NY Times comments this week, “over four decades it has had a significant impact on British theater, disrupting the dominance of scripted plays —something that hasn’t quite happened the same way in the United States.”
Johnny Hutch, one of the unsung heroes of physical comedy, would have been 100 years old today. As things turned out, he not only made it past his 93rd birthday, but remained active as an acrobatic performer until age 69, and as a teacher and choreographer late into life, last working as a stunt coordinator for the Royal Shakespeare Company at the age of 87. He was also married to the same woman, Jane Phillips, for 66 years, passing away — probably not coincidentally — months after she did in 2006.
It’s that time of the year again when I wish I were in London instead of New York. The reason of course is the 37th edition of the London International Mime Festival, which runs January 10–27. Calling it a mime festival is less accurate than its subtitle of “contemporary visual theatre.” Maybe it was more mime-y back in 1977, but these days it’s a rousing mixture of puppetry, nouveau cirque, clowning, dance, mime, juggling and everything in-between. Especially in-between.
British television comedian Benny Hill made a long career out of sight gags, British musical hall routines, and leering sexual humor. Other than his trademark Yakety Sax sped-up chase scenes, however, you wouldn’t necessarily think of him as a very physical comedian… and this skit probably won’t change your mind. “Scuttle’s Keep Fit Brigade” has some fun with acrobatics, but that’s about it. Like most of Hill’s work, very uneven, some good bits, nothing great, but at least there’s a lot crammed into a short amount of time. In other words, modern television.
One aspect of the whole One Man, Two Guvnors phenomenon that several of us physical comedy mavens have commented on is that today’s theatre-going audience, no matter how sophisticated, has seen little if any really well-done physical comedy, and certainly not the heavy dose they get served by this production. So far I’ve seen the show once on film (National Theatre Live series), once in previews here in New York, and then again on opening night. The response of the live audience was great, with both performances earning hearty, non-stop laughter and a standing ovation at the end.
Just two hours before yesterday’s Broadway premiere of the London smash hit, One Man, Two Guvnors, Cal McCrystal sat down with Jim Moore (vaudevisuals.com) and myself for this interview about his work on the show. Significantly, Cal is listed not as an assistant or as a choreographer, but as its “Physical Comedy Director,” his name immediately following that of overall director Nicholas Hytner in the program. Jim and I had already caught the show in previews and absolutely loved it, so when Hilary Chaplain offered to set up this interview, we jumped at the chance to talk shop.
One of Monty Python’s more physical comic sketches. Thanks to Justin Bowen for the link.
I wasn’t in London at the right time to see the smash hit, One Man, Two Guvnors, but that didn’t stop me from writing about it in this post, and I did subsequently catch a broadcast of it here in NYC as part of the National Theatre Live program. The title of that post was “Commedia Conquers London — Is Broadway Next?” and the answer is yes! — it begins its Broadway run on April 6th. Finally I’ll get to see it live on stage, and I’m hoping many of you will too. Highly recommended!!
I live in New York and have this thing called a job, otherwise the London International Mime Festival would be a good excuse to visit The Big Smoke for nineteen days this January (as if I needed an excuse). If you’re closer to London and less tied down, you’d be crazy to miss it.
A short follow-up to post 168, the pieing of Rupert Murdoch at a Parliamentary hearing. Jonathan May-Bowles, aka Jonnie Marbles, has pleaded guilty and been sentenced to three to six weeks and fined £250 costs — plus a £15 victim surcharge.
From the BBC wire, 12 August 2011. Richard Westcott reports:
Staff at Birmingham’s Central Library have discovered a priceless collection of more than 500 silent movie music scores. They made the find during a clearout before a move to a new building and unearthed more than just a bit of old junk.
Whether or not you’ve been following all my posts on commedia dell’arte and the various Carlos (Goldoni, Gozzi, Mazzone-Clementi), whether or not you think commedia is the holy grail of ultimate theatricality or merely a corny, hoary, outdated performance style, you will probably be surprised to learn that a modern adaptation of Goldoni’s Servant of Two Masters is the hottest ticket in London.
“It is a far better thing that I do now than I have ever done before #splat” — Tweet earlier today by pie-thrower Jonnie Marbles
Did you ever enjoy a great act in person and then later see it on video and find it flat and nowhere near as exciting? Yes, it’s incredible to be able to watch performances from around the world on our laptop computer or even on a telephone, but still there’s nothing like live performance.
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Workshops & Other Events
My first book (1976)
My book Clowns has long been out of print, but you can borrow it for two weeks at a time from the Internet Archive. More information is available here.
My second book (2015)
Visual and verbal humor for the cognitively and artistically curious! Available here.
“A book to treasure!”
—Bill Irwin