Mime "stark, comical’

Press, 3 April 1980, Page 4

Mime "stark, comical’

By Howard McNaughton The Cologne Mime Theatre, led and directed by Milan Sladek, Christ’s College Hall, April 2. . A near-capacity • audience attended the single Christchurch performance by the Cologne Mime Theatre in the Christ’s College Hall last evening. The group is widely regarded as one of the . finest Tpirne companies in Europe, and‘Sladek is particularly well known for his creation ofr'Kefka, his basic mime persona who is central to ntanypf bis works. F /The audience was extremely, responsive, from the first, and a light-weight solo courting sketch. “Refected.” vfent down particularly well. TWO other .solo pieces . followed: 'Kefka at a Party,” and “Kefkaisand: the- Sunflower.” f.' 'Then Isidoro Fernandez. Sylva Springer-Thomas, and Markus performed

“The Little Soldier,” an effectively stark mime narrative of a soldier poisfed between death and his maiden. The highlight of; the first half was, however, unquestionably “Samson-.and Delilah,” a solo iif which Sladek’s virtuosity accommodated both (somewhat modernised) biblical roles. First, he gave, us a ; musclebound Samson prowling restlessly on stage right; crossing -the 'stage, he- 5 instantaneously became Delilah, attending to her appearance and trying H to. find matching gloves...' v

As the parties* -became more interested.* in each other, so did the role changes become more hectic, until Samson emerged from the showdown scene, bragging as he struggled back into his trousers, only' to be confronted by Delilah with a pair of scissors, which she proceeded to employ in a scarcely biblical This

was excellent comedy, brilliantly done.

The whole of the second half consisted of “The-Gift,” described as “a pantomimic grotesque” by Milan Sladek. It was here that Kefka ven* tured into the world of Kafka, exploring a prison environment, and then finding a colossal egg. From this hatched a pelican-like bird; as it grew, so did its relationship with Kefka become less playful, and witii'the onset of (a somewhat schizoid) puberty- it became more aggressive. Kefka .was eaten,' a limb at a time, and the giant bird stretched out across the stage in post-prandial stupor; then, a hand appeared in its mouth, and Kefka climbed out. “The Gift” was theatrically highly effective, but technical effects and side lighting somewhat obscured the delightfully. ; refined. performance skills of this company.