Mime breaks language barrier

Fujairah: On the fifth day of the Fujairah International Monodrama Festival, the audience was treated to a unique performance by Japanese mime artist Nozomi Satomi.

Breaking away from the monodrama's traditional reliance on the word as a primary communication tool, Satomi's play "Who Am I?" celebrated the Japanese classic mime tradition which relies on physical movement and body language to project meaning and emotions.

Satomi's experimental mixing of a number of classic Japanese theatre traditions with contemporary performance dance forms reflects her desire to break free from the limits and constraints of tradition to reflect her own signature as an artist.

This was very much in evidence in her show "Who Am I?" which in itself is a combination of three separate works, the elements of which lend themselves nicely to the overall themes of the search for identity and territory and reaching out to connect to others.

Using simple props, such as a roll of paper and a red string, and with a musical accompaniment from Joji Takahashi on traditional Japanese instruments, Satomi, was able to express emotions and meanings to a largely Arab audience of critics and theatre professionals.

Satomi's one-woman show at the Monodrama House Theatre in Dibba, on Sunday evening, was a testament to her great physical conditioning which affords the artist the ability to explore the limits of the human body.

During the seminar after the show, Satmoi highlighted the importance of pantomime as an art as she championed the superiority of the body over the word.

She said: "Language is an important communication tool but sometimes words can be used to express lies. I think the body and body language can express more truth."

"I'm For My Baby"

The second show of the evening was from Jordan and entitled "Ana lihabibi" or "I'm For My Baby".

Written and directed by Gannam Gannam and performed by actor Khalid Al Tarifi, the show tells the story of Ali Mafarik, a struggling actor battling with emotional, social and professional problems.

Ali's deep obsession to play the role of the Shakespearian character of Othello has become an overwhelming factor in his life.

His dedication and love for acting and theatre is not enough to secure him roles and sustain a career as he sees less worthy rivals steel the limelight.

We see Ali living alone, constantly in monologue with his daughter Desdemona who has been hiding under the table, fearful and lacking confidence, ever since Ali's wife left him.

The audience is left to ponder whether Desdemona, who shares the same name as Othello's wife in Shakespeare's play, actually exists or is just a figment of Ali's imagination.

Through the life and struggle of Ali, it becomes apparent why he has such an affinity with his hero Othello.

Like Othello, Ali is the outsider trying to fit into the system and feeling conspired against.

The director Gannam Gannam dismissed criticism that the script was cumbersome saying that he deliberately wrote a problematic script and set the play in a nameless setting to evoke response from audiences.