Lost in mime

If there's a unifying force between the diverse array of acts gathered together in the name of mime in this year's International Festival then it's a knack for making the familiar look magically unfamiliar. This is the world turned upside down, sideways and back to front.

The opening turn, Jean-Baptiste André, is a case in point. André is a circustrained member of Philippe Decouflé's innovative dance troupe and his solo show, Intérieur Nuit (Purcell Room, tomorrow until Mon), finds him calling on his extraordinary hand-balancing skills to create a gravitydefying horiz-vertical universe which could have you shifting off your axis.

Andre's compatriot Mathurin Bolze is also a graduate of the French National Circus School and cut his performing teeth with Archaos. But now he's bounced out on his own with Fenetres (Laban Theatre, Jan 24 to 27), a trampolining tour-de-force inspired by an Italo Calvino short story about a young man who takes to the treetops.

If that doesn't get your head in a spin then British outfit Company F.Z, this time forsaking their trademark trapeze, get to grips with the neglected performance potential of the spiral staircase in Loser (Purcell Room, Jan 25 to 27). And, not to be left out, the humble chair gets a comedy historical makeover in acclaimed Catalan company Tricicle's Sit (QEH, Jan 21 to 23).

Tomorrow until Jan 30, various venues, times and prices. www.mimefest.co.uk