The new year offers lots of opportunities to see a range of home-grown and visiting international companies performing in mime, physical and visual theatre festivals across the country. The London International Mime Festival kicks off this month and is followed in February by the Beyond Words season at The Hawth, Crawley and the Moving Parts Festival at the MAC in Birmingham. There are full performance listings for all three festivals on page 33. We also include a feature on the London International Mime Festival, which looks back to its inception 21 years ago in 1977.

In this issue we branch into live art with an interview with the body artist Franko B, whose existential performances raise fascinating questions about the connection between creativity and mortality. Continuing with this theme, there is a feature on the function of rites of passage events; looking specifically at the work of Welfare State International, who have many years experience of 'staging' bespoke funerals. Elsewhere, we delve into the world of dance with an article on contact improvisation and with an analysis of the choreographic theatre of Wim Vandekeybus. There is also an article on stilt theatre company Scarabeus, who are currently working on a large-scale environmental performance project.

Following the success of last year's Critical Practice Debate, Total Theatre hosts a debate on Improvisation and Experimentation in Performance at the Royal Festival Hall, London as part of the International Mime Festival on 25 January. Speakers will include Tom Morris from BAC and Adrian Jackson, Artistic Director of Cardboard Citizens. All members are welcome, turn to page 20 for full details of the day's events. We look forward to seeing you there.