The Professor And The Comic

I love comics and greatly respect and admire professors. Not often you find somebody who is good at being both, as that's a rather unusual combination. And, when this somebody is Roberto Benigni, all the more pleasing and amazing. I just love that little guy. He can make me laugh without actually doing anything; just the way he looks, (no doubt carefully calculated look, but always managed to appear natural and spontaneous), his posture, his body language, and the very unique and comical facial expressions reacting to all sounds and sights around him. A true comic, not those who had to forcibly make faces or stick out their tongue, or with outrageously exaggerated gestures, as if they NEED to announce that they are at that moment being funny.

Another theatre art, the one man (or woman) show, the actors and actresses who can hold audience's full attention for 2 solid hours or longer, with nothing more than their monologue, reciting a section of a book or poems, telling a story, or just talking to you as if you are his only audience, opening his heart to you like you are his most intimate and trusted friend. He or she can make you laugh, or cry, or both at the same time. That is an art. But not plastic art, not something you contemplate or listen to without truly involving your own emotions and passions. Few artists can achieve all that and, I never even suspected before, Benigni can and does extremely well.

'Tutto Dante' is his one-man show years ago in Madrid, Spain. The first part of the show was full of his jokes and light hearted observations, punctuated with his own brand of quick wit and humour, and one could detect very cleaver improvisations that might take you a few seconds to catch on, but once you did you were so elated at your own wit, and almost feel grateful that he had allowed you to discover this gift you didn't realize you had.

The 2nd part was more serious, in parts religious. He's the professor that showed you even literature could be fun, when presented with ease of manners and tone, and once again you found that you love poetry more than you thought possible. You are likely to leave the theatre not just feeling you had a grand evening, but you had discovered that the world is not all gloom as the politicians make it out to be, and people and situations are not all bad as all media makes you believe, and you are a better and more gifted person than you thought you were.

Tags:professor,comic

Current Mood: Artistic