Princess Marie Louise. 5 June 1937

Aberdeen Evening Express
5 Jun 1937

Princess Marie Louise.

Following on from my most recent blog posts, this is a newspaper clipping dealing with a forthcoming performance at the Aldwych Theatre on 13 June 1937.

Fresh information is revealed with the notice that the performance, which is under the auspices of the Institute of Mime, has the patronage of Princess Marie Louise (1872-1956), a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

The journalist perhaps got a little carried away, leaving the publicity material behind with their ascertion that the production would trace the history of mime right from prehistoric times up to the present day. It certainly traced mime from the times of Ancient Greece, but I am not so sure about the stone age – though to be fair, I think it may refer to the use of mime as a means of expression before the use of speech.

The present day in mime was due to be represented by a modern satire with the ‘revealing name’ of Radio Breakfast. I wonder what it was about that name that tickled the writer of the article?

The author of the piece finishes with ‘Enthusiasts declare that miming actually combines or should combine most of the arts in one. Gesture, dance, acting, song – and silence – all go to the making of the modern performance of mime.’ Interestingly, this sentiment is certainly true of Twenty First Century mime – which includes all of these things and often has actually moved right away from what I think of as mime.