Sounds of silence

“The success of a mime lies in making the audience sit through your entire act without uttering a single word,” says Uday, who mimed the role of a beautiful girl last week.

Performed by students of film and media, under the guidance of Rammohan Holagundi of the Nishumbita theatre group, the four mimes’ presentations were based on improvisation.

The first mime, The Struggle for Existence, depicted how jobs of people like scavengers and item girls are perceived. This act had serious undertones as it was aimed at creating awareness about how the people who work ‘silently and without complaints’ for public welfare are rewarded poorly.

After a serious message in the first act, it was time to lighten the mood. A comedy Who Gets Her followed. The beautiful girl played by Uday evoked laughter from the audience. This act is about a worried father looking for the best suitor for his daughter. The two suitors, played by Naveen and Aditya, undergo difficult tasks to win the father’s approval.

Explaining the medium, Rammohan says: “Mime belongs to both on the street and the stage. The act has to be slow and exaggerated with lot of facial expressions for it to make an impact.” The performance was in sync with the background music and the expressions evoked laughter from the audience. The stories were narrated in a lucid way and considering that it was the first time for the students, the performances were commendable.