Marcel Marceau was a giant of an underappreciated art form
Born 100 years ago, the mime artist understood the eloquence of silence
Say “mime” and the name that comes to mind is Marcel Marceau. Despite a long history that embraces Greek tragedy and Roman farce, it is a much-derided form of art. Its silent exponents, clowns you can’t hear coming, are the butt of a memorably dismissive sketch by Gary Larson, an American cartoonist: “If a tree falls in the forest and no one’s around, and it hits a mime, does anyone care?”
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Speaking silence”
Culture March 4th 2023
From the March 4th 2023 edition
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