Touch of genius

There was hearty laughter from the start as mime artist Ennio Marchetto released his unique brand of comedy at the Madinat Theatre.

Although many were unsure of what to expect from this one-man show, we soon got the hang of it and delighted in the
quickfire impressions of dozens of celebrities through the use of ingenious card costumes.

Starting with the lovely Marilyn Monroe singing I Wanna Be Loved By You, the Italian performer deftly transformed her
infamous white halter-neck dress into the portrait of the Mona Lisa with a flick of the wrist.

Origami

Each colourful cartoon-like outfit - created by Marchetto's gifted costume maker Sosthen Hennekam - could be transformed into a new character two or three times, thanks to their origami structure, before Ennio donned a new chameleon costume in seconds
in the wings.

There was Kylie Minogue and her revealing hooded pantsuit singing Can't Get You Out Of My Head; Queen Elizabeth II who, with a tooth prop, instantly became Freddie Mercury, as God Save The Queen merged into I Want To Break Free; and Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over The Rainbow morphed into E.T. The Extra Terrestrial before our very eyes.

Aplomb

Particularly brilliant were Whitney Houston and the stuck-CD version of I Will Always Love You and Celine Dion's My Heart
Will Go On - the infamous scene from the film Titanic was brought to life by the costume transforming into the ship and
little replicas of the stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio positioned at the bow, arms outstretched.

With a simple base of a black leotard, bright red lipstick and heavy eyeliner, Marchetto exaggerated the mannerisms of all
his characters with aplomb. Clever links were beautifully executed adding another dimension to his humour while delightfully distasteful elements were pulled off with panache.

Marchetto's magic is different, witty and entertaining, and just the tonic if you need a good laugh.

Don't miss it

What: Ennio.
Where: Madinat Theatre, Souk Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai.
When: Today and tomorrow.
Length: 70 minutes.
Time:Nightly at 8.30pm and a matinee at 3.30pm on Friday only.
Tickets: Evening show Dh135, matinee Dh100.
Visit: www.madinattheatre.com