Mime performance showcased

Islamabad

After quite a long lull because of the security situation, artistes from different countries are coming to Pakistan to perform at various events arranged by embassies – something the culture vultures missed these past few years. In keeping with this mood of showcasing their culture, the Alliance Francaise (AF) organized a Mime performance by visiting artiste, Laurent Decol in collaboration with the Islamabad Club, titled ‘The Silent Words.’ The event was held at the back lawn which had been covered by a marquee. Mime is the theatrical technique of suggesting action, character, or emotion without words, using only gestures, expression and movement.

After a brief introduction by a member of the AF, Secretary (Chief Executive Officer) Islamabad Club, Arif Mahmud welcomed the invitees; said it was a pleasure to have the performance at the club and hoped everyone would enjoy the show.

The show featured eight, short skits with different themes. ‘The Thinker;’ ‘The Birth;’ ‘The Park;’ ‘The Little Circus;’ ‘The Seed;’ ‘Society Party;’ The Ball’ and The Mask Maker.’ They were easy to understand because of the skill of the artiste – his expressions and movements made the story clear and enjoyable, though I must say I was somewhat flummoxed by ‘The Birth!’All human emotions were acted out and most of the skits were geared towards humour - something we need more of these days - and it was mostly the children in the audience who laughed out loud at the antics on stage. The music was also well coordinated, not only for the different skits but for the lip syncing in the end – in his encore act it looked as if Laurent was really singing. Mime requires an extra effort to ensure that the tale the artiste tells is universally clear, so it must be quite exhausting for the artiste but a great experience for the audience.  Which it was – except that it was uncomfortably cold under the marquee!

Laurent Decol has completed over 2,000 performances and workshops in nearly 100 countries. He was privileged to be the student of Marcel Marceau of worldwide fame (New York City has declared 18 March ‘Marcel Marceau Day’ and Michael Jackson has admitted using some of Marceau's techniques in his own dance steps!)

He graduated from both Marcel Marceau Paris International School of Mimodrama and the Institute for Researching the Actor in Holstebro (Denmark) after which he was Professor at the Marcel Marceau Paris International School of Mimodrama. He is also an actor and is director of a theatre company.

In the words of an expert, ‘In the language of gesture and mime, the mono-performance ‘Words of Silence’ is a reflection on twelve of the existential human issues such as love, life and creativity. Since no speech is involved, communication is universal.’