The laughter of the audience is just about the only sound to be heard during performances by the Swiss mime group "Mummenschanz", as they present their latest show in Geneva.

The laughter of the audience is just about the only sound to be heard during performances by the Swiss mime group "Mummenschanz", as they present their latest show in Geneva.

Formed in 1972 as a fringe event at the Avignon Festival, the group originally combined spoken dialogue with mask sketches to create a world of fantasy and humour. But shortly after, its members dropped all spoken items to overcome the language barrier, and relied solely on mime, mask and exotic costumes.

Currently performing their new show "Next" in Geneva, "Mummenschanz" - meaning masquerade or mummery - has earned glowing reviews in the local press, with newspaper critics referring to their "giving wings to the inanimate" and "hypnotising Geneva".

Over the years the group has evolved an internationally-acclaimed act which appeals to people of all ages. In «Next» it questions whether inanimate objects have a soul, and tries to give answers with such sketches as the eiderdown which hits back.

"Mummenschanz" is performing at the converted former power station in the centre of Geneva until April 13, and at the city’s Theatre de Mézières from May 3 to 7.

by Richard Dawson

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