Making waves with Mimetic Festival

 

So for anyone looking to cast their gaze away from London’s crowded commercial-orientated festivities, there is a delightful cultural renaissance springing up in shape of the Mimetic Festival.

 

Formed from the resurgence of mime, puppetry and cabaret, Mimetic will see companies from seven countries descend on the borough of Enfield for a month-long celebration of theatre and cabaret as well as workships and films exploring the different genres.

 

From neo-Weimar Cabaret to the trials of a confetti maker or a cabaret take on the summer riots, the festival is both a daring move and a fresh alternative to the brash commercial offerings elsewhere. For Alex Parsonage, co-founder and artistic director of Finger In The Pie, it has been a daringly but exciting venture.

 

“Putting a festival together is one of the most exciting things I've done,” Parsonage says. “It's just amazing to be given the opportunity to put on all your favourite work into a compact and, hopefully, coherent event.

 

“I guess it's like making the ultimate mix tape if you're a theatre director. Obviously it's not all fun and games, there's a huge amount of logistics and potential headaches along the way - but I'm working with a fantastic team.”

 

If the programme of performances is unique, then Enfield is also a surprising choice as host for the festival. The borough was blighted by the riots which sprang up last year, and has been overshadowed by places such as Walthamstow as the new ‘artistic hubs’ of greater London. 

 

However Parsonage has already confronted such issues head on, Finger In The Pie (FITP) produced Rioting For Dummies earlier this year, which explored the state of Britain, from the August riots to bankers' bonuses and the Occupy movement. Mimetic’s line-up includes shows which also confront the social tensions of last year with Summer of Discontent, a cabaret show which delves into the inequalities of the Austerity Britain.

 

“Summer of our Discontent by the legendary Dusty Limits, is a political cabaret with teeth,” Parsonage says. “It's what I wanted cabaret to be when I first entered the industry - glamorous, sexy, intelligent and biting.”

 

Alongside the serious shows, Mimetic is also host to one of the current rising stars of the comedy world, Dr Brown, who is performing his Dr Brown Brown Brown Brown Brown show, FITP’s own Waiting For Stanley and The Confetti Maker – which follows a day in the life of a full-time confetti factory worker.

 

“The Confetti Maker by the wonderful German clown Frank Wurzinger is fantastic, surreal, moving and very, very funny. I think both pieces represent the very top of their game. That said the whole beauty of a festival is that it should be taken as a whole.”

 

Mimetic has a lot of potential, and as part of a strategy to boost the creative industries in Enfield it is a welcome addition to a neglected part of north London. However Parsonage is aware of the challenge that curating a new festival presents. 

 

“Puppetry is still seen very much as a kids theatre format, while the cabaret revolution has yet to reach the suburbs. But then we're going to change all that - that's what makes it so exciting.

 

“The Dugdale theatre is very new in Enfield town - it's only been opened since November last year - and obviously we're a brand new festival - so it's an uphill struggle getting the word out there.

 

“That said one of the hopes for the festival is that it will grab people attention and put the Dugdale Centre on the map - so everyone's fingers are crossed!”