Press Release: Compagnie Focus & Chaliwaté in association with MimeLondon present Dimanche this January

[Jan McNulty]

Compagnie Focus & Chaliwaté in association with MimeLondon  Dimanche  Wednesday 29 January – Saturday 1 February 2025   Tickets from £18  Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com    At the crossroads of puppetry, dance and theatre, Dimanche is an award-winning co-production by Belgian companies Focus and Chaliwaté, which comes to Sadler’s Wells home in the West End, Peacock Theatre from Wednesday 29 January – Saturday 1 February 2025, presented in association with MimeLondon.     Dimanche is set sometime in the near future when humanity has failed to adapt to the new environmental reality of climate change. Amid the chaos, a family attempts to maintain a normal lifestyle and enjoy its traditional family gathering, hilariously turning a blind eye to the surrounding mayhem as strong winds and torrential rain rage outdoors.     Meanwhile, somewhere above the Arctic Circle, three travelling wildlife reporters are doing their best to document the apocalypse. With what little equipment they have they seek to film Earth’s last living species: three wild animals on the brink of extinction.     Using lo-fi FX wizardry, miniature vehicles, puppetry, video, and visual comedy, Dimanche paints a tender and witty portrait of human ingenuity and stubbornness in trying to preserve their everyday habits in a world collapsing around them.      Chaliwaté and Focus said: “We wanted to take a closer look at how we all seem to attempt to keep things together at all costs.”     With their shared interest in developing new and unusual forums of visual theatre, Chaliwaté and Focus joined forces to produce Dimanche, which has proved an international hit since its first performances, including at the 2024 Edinburgh International Festival.     MimeLondon is a new curatorial project promoting thought provoking, unusual work, created by Helen Lannaghan and Joseph Seelig, directors of London International Mime Festival (LIMF), which ended in 2023 after five decades of award-winning success.     BSL interpreted post-show talk on Thursday 30 January 2025    Recommended age 9+      Notes to editors    About Focus and Chaliwaté  Directed by Julie Tenret, who graduated from INSAS, the company Focus from Brussels creates shows combining theatre of objects, puppets, actors and video. The scenic language she proposes is essentially visual metaphorical, poetic, artisanal, very close to a cinematographic writing. Her shows are aimed to all audiences and deal with social issues starting from the intimate, the infra-ordinary to reach the universal.    Trained in physical theatre, Sicaire Durieux and Sandrine Heyraud created Chaliwaté company in 2005. Based in Brussels, they work in a wordless, visual language,  poetic and physical, a blend of object theatre, circus and dance.        About MimeLondon  MimeLondon is a new curatorial project directed by Helen Lannaghan and Joseph Seelig. They were previously directors of London International Mime Festival, an annual festival of contemporary theatre which ran from 1977 to 2023. Essentially wordless and multi-disciplinary, its programme embraced circus-theatre, puppetry/animation, object theatre, mime, live art and physical theatre. Founded at the Cockpit Theatre as a one-off event, the festival grew to become the country’s longest-established international theatre season involving more than thirty London venues – from Tate Modern and West End theatres, to the Almeida, Barbican, Battersea Arts Centre, ICA, Jacksons Lane, Natural History Museum, Royal Opera House, Sadler’s Wells, Shunt Vaults, Soho Theatre, Shoreditch Town Hall and Southbank Centre. The festival presented almost 800 productions over its long history, including an Olivier Award winner and several Olivier nominations.     MimeLondon will promote work that's edgy and unusual, created and performed by exceptional artists. As well as performance and film, the season offers a range of specialist workshops led by experts in their fields.    In the present, artistically risk-averse climate we thank all our venue partners for their enthusiastic support in bringing the excitement of new forms and experiment to London audiences.       About Sadler’s Wells  Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance organisation. We strive to make and share dance that inspires us all. Our acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap.     We commission, produce and present more dance than any other organisation in the world. Since 2005, we have helped to bring more than 200 new dance works to the stage, embracing both the popular and the unknown. Our acclaimed productions tour the world. Since 2005 we’ve produced 64 new full-length works and performed to audiences of more than two million, touring to 51 countries.    Each year, over half a million people visit our three London theatres – Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Lilian Baylis Studio and Peacock Theatre. Millions more attend our touring productions nationally and internationally or explore our digital platforms, including Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage.       Sadler’s Wells East     In 2024 we’re opening a fourth London venue in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Sadler’s Wells East will house a 550-seat mid-scale theatre, as well as facilities for the new Rose Choreographic School and the hip hop theatre training centre, Academy Breakin’ Convention.     Sadler’s Wells East joins the rich cultural heritage of Stratford, opening in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as part of the East Bank development alongside the BBC, UAL’s London College of Fashion, UCL and the V&A. Sadler’s Wells East will support artist development and training, and the creation of new work. It will build the infrastructure for dance and make it accessible to more people. Sadler’s Wells East will house a flexible theatre presenting a wide variety of dance performances. Community will be at the heart of Sadler’s Wells East with a large open foyer that can be used by everyone as a meeting or performance space. There will also be dance studios and world-class dance facilities for dancemakers to train, create and rehearse productions.       Supporting artists   Supporting artists is at the heart of our work. We have associate artists and companies, which nurture some of the most exciting talent working in dance today. We host the National Youth Dance Company, which draws together some of the brightest young dancers from across the country. Sadler’s Wells Breakin' Convention runs professional development programmes to champion and develop the world’s best hip hop artists, as well as producing, programming and touring groundbreaking hip hop performances.         Learning and community links   Around 30,000 people take part in our learning and engagement programmes every year. We support schools local to our theatres in Islington and Stratford, designing experiences for children and young people to watch, explore and critically engage with the arts. We also run Company of Elders, a resident performance company of dancers aged over 60 who rehearse with renowned artists to make new work for public performances locally, nationally and internationally.         Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.     www.sadlerswells.com     Stay up to date with everything Sadler’s Wells on social media       Facebook: @SadlersWells      Twitter: @Sadlers_Wells      Instagram: @sadlers_wells      YouTube: Sadler’s Wells Theatre

Unsubscribe from this list