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Strategic Touring Grant

We are proud to confirm we have been awarded £159,680 by the Arts Council to build new audiences for mid-scale contemporary circus. The project which begins imminently aims to increase and diversify audiences for modern-day circus, culminating in the production and tour of our all-female circus show The Exploded Circus. The project will be delivered…
Thrilled to announce continued support!

Mimbre is extremely pleased to remain a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England in today’s announcements and we look forward to maintaining our contribution to the excellence of the arts in England alongside ACE in the coming years. One of our founding beliefs is that everybody should have access to great art and we…
Summer Internship Programme

Summer Internship Programme Mimbre create nuanced, breath taking and highly-skilled acrobatic theatre. We use circus and dance innovatively as a physical language to illuminate human connections and promote a positive image of women. We are offering a summer internship position for students who would like some practical and administrative experience in the management of a touring…
Women of Norfolk

In the final instalment for our Women’s History Month series, we’re featuring a double entry. The first one is from our Mimbre’s Executive Director (and in–house author extraordinaire)’s mum, Carole Lovett, and is something of a scathing attack on medieval mystic Margery Kempe. We’ll have some more positive thoughts about women afterwards, but in the…
Myths and realities

“Censor the body and you censor breath and speech at the same time” – Hélène Cixous, Laugh of the Medusa Historically, the circus has ever been a liminal space, operating on the fringes of society, outside the norm. To enter the Big Top was to enter an alternative paradox: it was a world that was…
Podcasts – from warrior queens to strongwomen

I’m a big fan of podcasts and have been religiously listening to Stuff You Missed in History Class for a while now. I think the podcast is amazing. It’s well researched, features divers stories and yes sometimes, it features women. For some baffling reason this has irritated some of the listeners, with the hosts Tracy V. Wilson and…
Kathrine Switzer, Bobbi Gibb and women who run

In 1967 Kathrine Switzer entered the Boston Marathon. Nothing particularly strange about that you might think, but at that point women weren’t allowed to enter it. Switzer managed to sneak past the officials by putting her name down with only her initials. Only a few miles into the race, a race official tried to physically…
I PARTICIPATED IN A 4-DAY DEVISING WORKSHOP…

This is a guest post by Alison Halstead. Alison is a Mimbre Associate Performer, and a British-born, American-raised, professionally-trained actor. This article originally appeared on her blog 4 foot 6, on 5th December 2016. – one of several workshops for d/Deaf and disabled actors, hosted by a major U.K. theatre. Some years ago, a disabled…
SUFFRAGETTE CIRCUS

This is a re-post by The Virtuoso. This article originally appeared on The Virtuoso, on March 1st 2016. Today, a story that has nothing to do with science or literature, but one in honor of Super Tuesday and Women’s History Month: women’s suffrage! Specifically, women’s suffrage in the circus! And no, it’s not about the…
A FEW YEARS BACK…

This is a guest post by Alison Halstead. Alison is a Mimbre Associate Performer, and a British-born, American-raised, professionally-trained actor. This article originally appeared on her blog 4 foot 6, on 4th September 2016. …I auditioned for an all-female acrobatics company. The small ensemble was looking to expand and to work with women of differing creative and…