Billy the Mime

Although marketed as a taboo-breaking proponent of the politically incorrect, Billy the Mime is a surprisingly sensitive proposition. The themes and events depicted in his show may be of a darker nature than those usually tackled by the medium, yet his routines are always elegiac and imbued with respect and dignity.

'A Night in a Gay Bar, 1979' may generate laughs from its depiction of rough anal sex, but it's hard not to feel moved as its protagonist shrinks from a dance to a shiver, succumbing to an early strain of AIDS. Elsewhere, an alter boy is abused and forced into silence by a priest. It's amusing to watch a mime illustrate obscene acts for us in a graphic and inventive fashion, but there's no doubting the performer's empathy with the victims. Even the most steadfast opponent of the monarchy is liable to be moved by an unashamedly sentimental, populist sequence concerning Prince Charles and Lady Diana in which the neglected wastrel is forced into the arms of another man.

Though he's primarily concerned with real life horrors, the highlight of this afternoon's show finds the mute performer serenading a woman plucked from the audience. Their interaction is hilarious and would not seem out of place in this year's The Boy With Tape on His Face. Though being a funny mime is supposedly Billy's unique selling point, the moments of high comedy that punctuate his show don't always gel with the poignancy of scenes such as 'Whitney Houston's Last Bath' and render the hour somewhat disjointed in feel.

http://www.billythemime.net