- Great Britain
Nola Rae studied at the Royal Ballet School in London, then danced professionally at the Malmö Stadsteater and the Tivoli Pantomime Theatre in Copenhagen before discovering a passion for mime and studying with Marcel Marceau in Paris.
She was a founding member of experimental international troupe Kiss, based in France, co-founded the Friends Roadshow with Jango Edwards and also found time to be a member of the Bristol Old Vic Company. In 1974 she founded the London Mime Theatre with Matthew Ridout, and has worked with the company ever since.
Nola presented her first original show at the Festival du Monde in Nancy in 1975. Her unique blend of mime, clowning, puppetry, dance and slapstick comedy has now been performed in 69 countries and counting.
A life-long fan of William Shakespeare, she collaborated with John Mowat on the extraordinary Shakespeare The Works as well as a production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Nola is also a renowned director, specialising in subverting tragedies with the help of clowning. She also regularly leads workshops, seminars and demonstrations.
In 2008, Nola was made an M.B.E in recognition of her work in the fields of theatre and mime.
