On Saturday, the 30th of January, the students of standard 11 attended a marvellous show at Bandra. It was a creative adaptation of The Tempest, a play by Shakespeare, performed in pantomime.
‘Pantomime’ refers to the art of conveying actions, feelings and emotions with the use of gestures only. Most of the students attending this show were not entirely sure how this would be possible with a play written by Shakespeare, who uses only words to get his messages across to the readers. We had no idea of what we should have been expecting from the performance.
However, regardless of our expectations, each of us was blown away.
It was spectacular, how this small group of young adults carved out their own interpretation of a complex, Shakespearean comedy and added to it their own style to come up with such a brilliant act.
We did not feel the absence of words due to the presence of an excellent, digital backdrop, which communicated everything the actions of the pantomimists could not. The production was fabulous, with outfits that looked like they were straight out of the Elizabethan era and music that seemed to draw the audience into the scene.
The mimists… Well, I have no words for them. They simply left me speechless. Their job must have been the hardest – to be able to communicate without words is not a joke. All of them were not only amazing actors but also great dancers. Their expressions were so vivid, it was hard not to understand what they were saying.
It definitely delivered.
It only took a few seconds for me to dive into the plot and take the roller coaster ride of emotions that this talented team of performers took me on; and for this, I applaud them.
I could praise the performance forever, but I’m afraid I’ll give away too much. I think it would suffice to say that I believe the performance was beautiful enough to be on Broadway. However, while it’s here in Bombay, it is definitely worth spending some time and money on. You will not be disappointed.
-Raksha Saraf 11A
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