Mime artist

A mime artist, or simply mime, is a performer who tells a story using only body movements, without speaking. This style of performance is called mime, or pantomime outside of Britain. Long ago, such performers were called mummers. Miming is different from silent comedy, where an actor appears in a movie or sketch without any sound.

Mime artists Jean Soubeyran and Brigitte Soubeyran in 1950

Famous teachers like Jacques Copeau helped shape mime by using masks in training actors. His student, Étienne Decroux, took these ideas further and created a style called corporeal mime, making performances look like sculptures. Another important teacher, Jacques Lecoq, also helped develop mime and a style called physical theatre. Because of these contributions, France recognized mime as important cultural heritage in 2017.

History

Ancient Greece and Rome

Main articles: Ancient Greek comedy and Theatre of ancient Rome § Roman comedy

Mime, or silent storytelling with the body, began in Ancient Greece. The name comes from a dancer called Pantomimus. Early records show mime in plays by Aeschylus. In Rome, mime became a popular part of theatre, often used between longer plays. Famous Roman leaders had different opinions about mime—some liked it, while others did not. Mime stood out because performers did not wear masks and both men and women could act.

Two mime artists playing with children in Indonesia.

Medieval Europe

In Europe during the Middle Ages, early forms of mime appeared, like mummer plays and dumbshows. Later, in Paris, Jean-Gaspard Deburau helped shape what we think of as modern mime, with a silent performer in white makeup.

In non-Western theatre

Mime-like performances exist in many cultures. In Classical Indian musical theatre, stories are told through hand movements and body language. The Natya Shastra talks about silent acting. In Kathakali, actors use faces, hands, and bodies to show stories from old Indian tales. The Japanese Noh style has influenced modern mime with its masks and physical acting. Butoh is another style that uses strong body movements.

Formats

In film

A Dog's Life (1918), Charlie Chaplin

Before the work of Étienne Decroux, there were no major books about the art of mime. The twentieth century brought a new way to tell stories: motion pictures. Early movies could not use much talking, so stories had to be told through actions. This made mime very important in early films. Famous silent film comedians like Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Buster Keaton used mime in their acting. They learned mime from the theatre and greatly influenced mimes in live shows. Harpo Marx of the Marx Brothers also used mime in films even when movies started to have sound. Jacques Tati became famous first as a mime and later made films with very little talking, using clever visual jokes.

On stage and street

Whitefaced mime on Boston Common in 1980

Mime is often performed on stage. Marcel Marceau and his character “Bip” are the most well-known. Mime is also popular in street theatre and busking. Traditional mimes wear black and white clothes with white face paint, but modern mimes sometimes do not. While old mimes were completely silent, some today use sounds without speaking. Mime shows can be funny or very serious.

In literature

Canadian author Michael Jacot wrote a novel called The Last Butterfly about a mime artist in Nazi-occupied Europe. Nobel laureate Heinrich Böll wrote The Clown, which tells the story of a mime artist named Hans Schneir who faces hard times after being left by his loved one.

List of mime artists

Mime artist Thelmo Parole on sticker art. Sydney 2025