I have a confession to make. I don’t like mimes. I have said it, very mean, if every mime on the face of the earth would disappear, the world would not be a worse place. They had to drag me kicking and screaming to see Avner The Eccentric, a one man mime show, but when the show was over, they had to drag me kicking and screaming out of the theatre. I wanted more. Avner The Eccentric is a brilliant comic.
My problem with mimes is that most mimes confuse the means with the end. They develop the skills then don’t do anything with them, kind of like the concert violinist coming out and playing scales but Avner uses his skills to create a one man symphony, beautifully paced and more often than not, hurt yourself hysterically funny. I laughed for 2 solid hours. The show only lasted an hour and a half. The last 30 minutes I remembered and laughed all over again.
You know the most critical element in comedy? Ask me, what’s the most critical element in comedy? Timing. And the timing, the pacing, the bits that fly off the wall and out of nowhere are so good, you are never aware there is just one silent man with some silent props entertaining you. Please take the kids. There is even a special holiday matinee schedule. Avner The Eccentric by the way was arrested in Paris for public buffoonery. We’re lucky being funny isn’t against the law here in New York. He’d be facing 15 to life. He is funny.