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The Guardian

Annie Stainer obituary

The mime, clown and dancer Annie Stainer, who has died aged 79 of pneumonia, was best known for her solo work in the 1970s and 80s, and in particular for the three thematically linked mime and dance pieces that became known as the Annie Stainer trilogy. They all had a basis in myth, as well as themes of journey, life-cycles and seasons, change, and the archetypes of womanhood. The Legend of Lilith, devised in 1973, with Adam's 'first wife' as the central character, and based on the writings of William Blake and George MacDonald, was performed around the world, notably in the Cathedral of St John the Divine, in New York City. Moon (1975), a celebration of love, the phases of the moon and the gardener's year, was staged at many festivals, including the inaugural Cockpit festival of mime and physical theatre (now the London international mime festival) in 1977, and won an Edinburgh Fringe First award. Changing Woman, which debuted in Glasgow in 1984, evoked ancient mysteries, exploring the points of the compass and the four elements. These physically demanding works were performed together as a trilogy at the Perth festival, in Western Australia, in 1988. Annie also collaborated on significant ensemble works. She originated the role of Ernestine in Lindsay Kemp's acclaimed production Flowers (1974) and appeared as the ethereal Columbine alongside David Bowie in the 1970 film version of Kemp's improvised mime drama The Looking Glass Murders. Annie and Lindsay were part of Bowie's backing troupe for his 1972 concerts at the Rainbow theatre in London. Grainy black and white photos show Ziggy Stardust surrounded by spectral figures in gossamer unitards – Annie is easily distinguished by her waif-like figure and her trademark long, feathery hair. She worked with Emil Wolk at the Edinburgh festival on Don Quixote (1974) and in the Fringe First award-winning The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1977), in which she embodied the Albatross. In 1982, Annie joined the Australian tour of Steven Berkoff's The Fall of the House of Usher, as the haunting Madeleine Usher. Berkoff said of Annie that she 'creates a theatre that goes beyond the commonplace and takes us into far deeper areas'. This tour was her first visit to Australia and the beginning of her love for the country, which eventually resulted in her settling there. Annie was born in Shaftesbury, Dorset and raised in Mere, Wiltshire, where her parents, Edna (nee Grey) and Ron Stainer, ran the local bakery. After leaving Shaftesbury grammar school, she studied French at the University of Warwick, where in 1967 she met her future husband Reg Bolton, a student of English and European literature. At childhood ballet classes, Annie had been reprimanded for her 'broken arms' – this physical attribute would later become a feature of her celebrated solo shows. She would appear to fly, by delicately and continuously undulating her arms as if they were remarkable wings. This skill for physical shapeshifting was strengthened by her studies in dance in 1968 at the London School of Contemporary Dance and in mime with Etienne Decroux in Paris (1970-71), and complemented by an innate talent for storytelling, which helped establish her as a spellbinding performer Her longest professional partnership was with Reg, whom she married in 1972 and with whom, in 1974 in Edinburgh, she created the Long Green children's theatre company. Its shows included Suitcase Circus (1983), which they took on tour to more than 20 countries, accompanied by their children, Joe and Sophie. This took them back to Australia, where both Annie and Reg were invited to join the teaching staff of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 1985. The family settled in Perth, and for six years, Annie was head of movement in the theatre department at WAAPA. In 2002, Annie established the Total Theatre school of physical theatre, at the Camelot theatre in Perth, which fused theatre, dance, cabaret and circus in sprawling original and subversive works. Labyrinth: A Cosmic Comedy drew on sources as wide-ranging as Italo Calvino, Angela Carter and Agatha Christie. Kindly Leave the Stage asked students to recreate famous vaudeville acts. Il Milione: The Travels of Marco Polo depicted a chaotic journey along the Silk Road. Total Theatre also branched out into children's and street theatre, tackling (and upending) well-known tales such as Cinderella, Noah's Ark and Aladdin. In her final few weeks in hospital, Annie was planning her next production (a time-travelling love letter to Shakespeare), and made sure that any doctors and nurses she encountered knew it was scheduled for 2026. Reg died in 2006. Annie is survived by her children and four grandchildren. Annie Stainer, mime, clown and dancer, born 29 September 1945; died 31 May 2025