Burn the red noses! The London International Mime Festival launches this week on Saturday, 15th January, now in its 34th year it's London's longest running performance festival.

To those who are unfamiliar, you'll discover there's more to mime than that French chap whose name escapes us right now. For anyone with the slightest appreciation of live performance, you'll find your kindred spirit here among the physical poetry and nourishing beauty. Or if it's your doppelganger you're seeking to face there's certainly a decent dollop of dark comedy and satire to wake the soul. Run Riot caught up with festival Directors Helen Lannaghan and Joseph Seelig to glean a view of their world and to hear their recommendations for this years line-up of international artists.

Run Riot: For two weeks (Sat 15 - Sun 30 Jan) artists from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, UK and USA will be performing at the festival. If each nation were to have a character trait of Mime, what would the UK's be and why?
Helen Lannaghan and Joseph Seelig: Massive intelligence and fast-paced humour. We don't dilly dally. Other countries' artists might repeat the same gag over and over (and get the same laugh over and over), but here, it's like 'OK, we got it first time, what's next?' For those of us in London, we have the great benefit of seeing lots of stimulating work in a kind of cultural hothouse and that means our audience has a high expectation of our artists.

RR: Founded in 1977, the London International Mime Festival is the Capital’s longest established international theatre season. We applaud you! What pearls of wisdom have helped guide you over the last three decades as the presenter of such innovative performance?
Helen & Joseph: Expect the unexpected... and keep the back door to the festival open as long as possible - interesting work often comes and goes quite quickly so we have to be on our tippy toes to be ready to respond to interesting proposals. Ignore being beaten mercilessly for keeping the word 'mime' in the festival's title - in fact, enjoy the pain! There's such a weird prejudice against the word from it's association with one man and it's hard to shake it off. Look beyond standard artform labels. Keep the programme a rich mix of visual theatre. Present the best of the best and aim to inspire because the audience contains the performers of the future.

RR: For those readers who are terrified of traditional clowns, there's actually little to worry about. Are there particular strands that you program into the festival? There seems to be something for everybody from pieces full of cutting edge circus-theatre, adult puppetry and animation, to physical and object theatre - all inviting you to engage your imagination in a most enchanting way, and sometimes gloriously disturbing.
Helen & Joseph: Absolutely. Thank you Run-Riot! It's all visual theatre, but drawn from disparate theatrical strands to include puppetry, mask, mime, object-theatre, live art and things which are simply beyond the describable. 'Mime' just means 'to mimic life', so forget the cliches! Yes, there is something for everyone as we want the work to range from the accessible to the artistically nutritious. That helps to develop our audience - see something 'easy', get a bit of confidence and momentum in your stride then try something you might not have initially chosen. Some people do just see one show, but many people see 6 or more shows enjoying the critical mass of stimulating work.

RR: For the newcomer to the festival which show(s) would you recommend?
Helen & Joseph:
Akhe Engineering Theatre Gobo: 'Digital Glossary' (ICA Theatre, 16-20 Jan). Unforgettable images and bizarre events, dream theatre of chaos from Russia’s avant garde. Just buying their props has been a real challenge!
Atelier Lefeuvre & André: 'Le Jardin' (Linbury Studio Theatre at the Royal Opera House 28-30 Jan). World class circus skills and physical comedy in this battle of wits around the greenhouse. Clever, sophisticated and funny.
Compagnie 111/Aurélien Bory: 'Sans Object' (Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall, 21-23 Jan). Spectacular futurist fantasy for two acrobats and an industrial robot, with shades of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Really, this robot seems more human than the actors.
Compagnie MPTA/Mathurin Bolze: 'Du Goudron et des Plumes' (Barbican Theatre, 26-29 Jan). Five brilliant acrobats, a haunting story and a stage in almost constant motion. New show from Mathurin Bolze, winner of France’s new circus ‘Oscar’, Le Prix du Cirque - really rather wonderful.
Geoff Sobelle & Charlotte Ford: 'Flesh and Blood & Fish and Fowl' (Barbican Pit, 19-29 Jan, not 23 Jan). Edinburgh 2010 Fringe First winning dark ecological satire - mankind has lost the plot and the food chain is about to change. I freely admit I love this show. Intelligent comedy from two great American performers.

RR: Is the year ahead full of visiting international festivals on the scout for next years talent? Who's on your radar for LIMF 2012 - the new generation along with seasoned favorites?
Helen & Joseph: Well, that sounds a lot more glamorous than it actually is. In the first instance we watch a lot of DVDs, really, a lot and if the work looks interesting we follow it up - we'll certainly go to at least a couple of festivals, but the challenge is really to find or help develop work at the stage before that. We have some very exciting big projects lined up for 2012 and we'll be looking at the new wave of contemporary visual theatre in Italy where things are really firing up. You'll notice I'm not mentioning any names - projects have a weird way of going pear-shaped if you announce them too early and I don't want to tempt fate...

RR: We have to ask - who's strings would you like to pull and why (open to interpretation)?
Helen & Joseph: Good question. Maybe Rupert Murdoch so we could manipulate the manipulator...

The London International Mime Festival runs from 15 - 30 Jan 2011 at various venues across London. For more details check out their website: www.mimefest.co.uk