Time of Mime 2

Mime artist Iimuro Naoki

The Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Japan Foundation, Manila in celebration of the 40^th Year of ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation presented mime artist Iimuro Naoki in Time of Mime 2 at the CCP’s Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (CCP Little Theater). Iimuro returned to the Philippines for a two night performance after the successful staging of the first Time of Mime back in 2011.

I wasn’t able to see Iimuro’s Time of Mime back in 2011 but I heard such great feedback about it that I vowed to make sure that I would see him if ever he comes back. And it pleased me a lot that I was able to see the show during its first night.

Time of Mime 2 was divided into several vignettes bookmarked by a prologue and an epilogue. In each vignette, Iimuro acted out silently various facets of life from the mundane, the profound and also venturing into the virtual. There was almost always a punchline at the end of each vignette and it was remarkable that Iimuro was able to convey the story, emotions, conflict and the resolution with such clarity despite not being able to employ the use of speech. In the show, Iimuro was an assembly line worker who got bored with his job and daydreamed that he was a music icon. He also became a salaryman who encountered misfortune while commuting to work. At one point, he got obsessed with catching a butterfly. And in one of the most profound portions of the show, Iimuro single handedly showed the circle of life here on earth.

What impressed me the most was the way Iimuro moved his body with such grace, fluidity, and at times tension. Despite performing on an almost empty stage, he was able to move his body convincingly as if there was an actual set around him. When he slammed into the air, one felt that he really slammed into an actual wall. He was also able to manipulate some props like a suitcase, a hat and a balloon to the point that these inanimate objects looked like they had a life of their own. He made it appear that these things were actually resisting his pull although everybody knew that it wasn’t so, that he was just using his skills as a mime. In between scenes, he further entertained the audience with a water bottle trick that looked like it vaulted from his hand without any push coming from him. Iimuro made things look so easy but by the end of the show, he looked tired as if he had gone through a heavy work out session.

The show also used music to great effect. A diverse soundtrack that included music by Michael Jackson (Beat It), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Rondo alla turca from Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major K.331), Charlie Chaplin (Terry’s Theme from Limelight) and Johann Pachelbel (Canon in D) brought a lot of character, variety and charm to the scenes and Iimuro was able to use the music to highlight his emotions.

Iimuro performing at the CCP became more meaningful for him since his mentor and idol, Marcel Marceau also performed there back in 1970 and in 1989. After his two night performance, Iimuro also conducted a mime workshop for actors. Sadly, I wasn’t able to attend and observe this workshop. It would’ve been very interesting to see Iimuro teach some of the tricks of his trade.