MIME has come a long way since the days of white gloves and being stuck in an imaginary box, and this week London’s celebrated annual showcase for contemporary visual theatre returns to the capital with 19 days of boundary-breaking performances featuring 15 companies from ten countries.

The London International Mime Festival 2010 opened at the Barbican yesterday with the UK premiere of Öper Öpis. With the action taking place on an unstable stage that can tilt in response to the movements of the talented company led by the rubber-limbed Martin Zimmerman, the show features a jaw-dropping mix of visual art, circus, music and dance, set to the music of composer/DJ Dimitri de Perrot’s live scratched soundscore.

Other highlights of the season include the world premier of Ockham’s Razor’s The Mill, at the Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House, where the drama unfolds inside and around a giant wheel of wood and steel suspended seven metres in the air.

The Southbank Centre and the ICA are also chosen venues for this year’s festival.

Öper Öpis runs at the Barbican Theatre, London, until Saturday, January 16. Tickets: 0845 121 6839 or www.barbican.org.uk (£10-£26). For more information on the London International Mime Festival visit www.mimefest.co.uk