Tracing Balinese Theatre and the Art of Mime to Their Ritualistic Roots

Antonin Artaud's On the Balinese Theatre offers an overview of the style of theatre in Bali. What resonated the most, for me, is this idea of ritual and familiarity. Ritual is something we lack in many western cultures, specifically in American culture. While we certainly have ritual, it is not nearly as intricate or as communal as we see in Balinese theatre.

The idea of ritual is usually associated with religion. We can see Roman Catholicism as an example of a religion with very specific ritual that is known and familiar to everyone who participates. The end result is a communal and spiritual experience. In Bali, this experience is manifested through theatrical productions. While this may seem more religious than theatrical, Artaud argues that in fact, "it is the most beautiful manifestation of pure theatre it has been our privilege to see."

What makes the ritual interesting is that because it's so communal, they can represent ideas and themes as opposed a true-to-life representation on stage. In western theatre, we typically represent theme through an accurate reconstruction of social situations.

Many of us hold onto the Platonic and Aristotelian notion that life is a copy of something perfect, and theatre is then a copy of life. In Bali, there is no attempt to mimic the perfect or imperfect, but rather to represent the idea through intricate movements, gestures and music.

Only the language that is overwhelming to every spoken tongue juxtaposes this tranquil collage of thought and movement onstage. Artaud makes the pitch that the language is beyond simple cultural nuances like idioms or expressions, but in a category of its own. This is again contrary to our western expectation of dialogue. We expect the dialogue to push the plot and idea forward.

While most western theatre relies heavily on the formula of blocking, dialogue and spectacle, it should also be noted that mime is a theatrical art form, based in dance and ritual that can be paralleled in Balinese theatre. In Mira Felner's Apostles of Silence: The Modern French Mimes, she notes that the origin of mime derived from Greek dance. She says, "As the [Greek] culture developed, the dance form evolved into mime and theatre."

The origins of western dance, like in Balinese dance, come from ritual and religion. The festivals in honor of Dionysus share the same communal and ritualistic roots as in modern day Bali. What may seem so foreign to us now in America, is actually in our direct theatrical lineage.

The idea of mime, which is aesthetically opposite to a Balinese performance, is similar in that it is not attempting to mimic real life, but rather an idea. In laymen's terms, we tend to explain mime, or think of mime, as a means of replicating life exactly, only without the use of props or words. While this is one aspect of mime, Felner reminds us that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Mime was often used to make social or political commentary, representing an idea, not necessarily an exact reconstruct of life. This could be done through our traditional view of mime, but also though other parts of mime that includes, but is not limited to, dance and acrobatics.

Like Balinese theatre, mime includes an aspect of familiarity that makes the performance culturally unifying. There are many things that a mime does, that everyone in this culture would recognize right away. Whether it be a comical prank, with its roots in Commedia, or an action done in complete silence, the audience would collectively grasp the idea.

A western mime performance and a Balinese theatrical performance would bare almost no resemblance to one another. People from a Balinese tradition would be alienated from a western mime performance. Cultural nuances would be lost, and the style alone would be foreign. Just like a westerner plopped in Indonesia, would probably question whether they were witnessing theatre or religion.

It is important to note, however, that the roots and origins are not as distant as we assume. Both art forms originated out of religion and ritual and the attempt to comment on ideas, rather than a realistic interpretation of life. They both have evolved into unique and innovative art forms. The human condition is a creative one, and whether we grew up with eastern or western ideals, we still seek to mirror universalities in our lives through art.