Mimes in Beirut!

I went to a theatre production last Saturday night that was entirely in Arabic.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I want to mention that it was a mime production, but in Arabic nonetheless.  It was performed at a neighborhood theater a block from my apartment called the Theatre of Beyrouth.  The theater itself was a small, quaint place that was underground with exposed brick and rock making up the walls. 

The play was really funny!  It was somewhat of a satire on Lebanese life and culture.  The actors used their hands coming through the slits of a black curtain and verbal expressions (grunts, shouts of joy, tone differentiation, etc.) to express their amusement, joy and sadness throughout the production.  There was also a character that, at times, was in a wheel chair and another character, a lady, in a ballet dancer’s outfit.  But, the hand mimes were the hit of the play.  The mannerisms that were perfected to express emotions such as sadness, happiness and disappointment were so creative and entertaining.  Every scene that was dominated by the hands was hilarious! 

So, I did attend an entire production that was spoken in Arabic.  It was the mimes who were “speaking” in Arabic that made it possible for me to understand the scenes.