Mime Flies With "Revelatory and Thrilling" Teatro Delusio, Dec 21-24

One of the challenges for international touring companies presenting theater in China is the question of language. However, this is no problem for German company Familie Flöz, as they bring their acclaimed show Teatro Delusio to Beijing. Their performances are entirely wordless and use masks and mime to cut across the language barrier.

In Teatro Delusio three actors play over 20 characters, bringing the behind the scenes work of theater technicians onto the stage, with a mixture of mime, improvisation, and physical comedy which has been described as “revelatory and thrilling.” We talked to Gianni Bettucci, one of the company’s directors, about the difference between mime and conventional acting.

“It is a completely different experience,” Bettucci tells the Beijinger. “It is not harder or easier, it is just different. You use different tools, and you communicate on a very different level. We often say that our masks cannot think or be intellectual, they can only feel and express emotions, so on that level, we have to work and communicate.”

Why do you use masks, we asked?

“Because of what we call ‘the magic of the mask.’ First of all the mask is an archetype ... it is not a European, Chinese, or African face. It is an archetype of a human being, so every person on this planet can relate to it. On top of that, the mask, which is a fixed object, in our show starts moving, crying, and smiling ... so that the members of the audience think that our masks have some futuristic devices that make them move.

“That is not the case,” he adds, smiling.

And the show changes and evolves on tour, Bettucci says.

“Our show lives only through the reaction of the audience, and this reaction changes a lot what we live on stage.”

Teatro Delusio plays at the Tianqiao Performing Arts Centre from Dec 21-24. Performances start at 7.30pm and tickets cost from RMB 99-380.

Photos courtesy of the organizers