Pantomime: The Silent Theater by Douglas and Kari Hunt (review)

236 MODERN DRAMA September ing for anyone who cares about theater and drama, in renewed pleasure with old favorites and the stimulus of items first come upon. The hardcover single volume is welcome for a book to be read and reread, in as well as through, and kept at hand for reference. KENNETH ROWE University of Michigan PANTOMIME: THE SILENT THEATER, by Douglas and Kari Hunt, Atheneum, New York, 1964, 115 pp. Price $3.50. The main value of this book is its investigation of modern pantomime, a stimulating introduction to the many uses to which pantomime has been put in modern theater. In the preface, the authors have made a commendable attempt to work out a critical vocabulary with which to describe the non-verbal elements, but they come to the dubious conclusion that "Because it requires no words itself, words cannot really describe it." The opening discussion of what pantomime is proves somewhat more helpful. They manage to suggest some of its difficulty and its extreme complexity. More factual are their reports on its use in early movies, in the silents and in the first sound films. Their essays on the circus clown and on television pantomime open new ground. Their major contribution is an interesting study of Etienne Decroux and his influence on modern mime; they emphasize that his is a theory of "pure pantomime," without set, costume, or accompaniment. In his time, director Jean-Louis Barrault was one of his pupils and helped teach Marcel Marceau the trade, thus beginning the new vogue of "solo" mime. Unfortunately, the authors feel they must justify such studies by including a brief historical sketch claiming that there has been a long solid tradition of pantomime continuing undiminished down the ages. Intent upon this idea, they disregard most of the facts in the case. The best that can be said is that, at moments, they do give quick "rough sketches" of Roman pantomime, Commedia .del Arte, and English pantomime. The illustrations are good and include several of the authors' own excellent photographs of modern mimes. JONATHAN R. PRICE Yale University ...