Legendary Spanish Mime Trio Hits City

Babies in diapers and pantomime will come together in “100% Tricicle,” as a trio of Spain’s finest mimes perform in Moscow, where they promise to make you laugh every 10 seconds.

Born in Barcelona 30 years ago, the Tricicle comedy team performed at the opening of the 1992 Summer Olympics in their home city and has a sister company which tours around the world to much success.

“Its originality, its verve and the artistry of its members give delight,” Variety magazine wrote of a previous show. The Daily Telegraph wrote that one show was “Brilliant, original and extremely funny!”

This is mime — but quick, fast and funny mime.

“This is a theater without words, a theater of movement, the themes of which encompass everyday human issues — and anyone can relate to them,” Ildar Bakeyev, the show’s producer, said in a phone interview.

The three original members of Tricicle personally produce and direct the work that goes out on tour. “During rehearsal, Tricicle teaches its own mime techniques, [which are] far from the classic stereotypes of Marcel Marceau’s work. Shows are based on the ‘most natural gesture’ technique, which makes the public forget that the actors don’t speak, because otherwise they act as normal actors,” the Tricicle members said in a group e-mail.

The Moscow show, “100% Tricicle,” compiled from different elements of past performances, tells the story of the three stages of human life — childhood, adulthood and old age.

One of the acts has three male actors in diapers imitating babies, with each actor representing a different baby character.

“Some might see this act as provocative: Three half-naked hairy men running around in diapers. But they imitate babies with such accuracy, love and tenderness, with such craft, that one forgets that these are 30- to 40-year-old actors and sees three real babies,” Bakeyev said.

“Visual comedy is in our everyday life. It’s even more powerful than verbal humor. Visual comedy will always be there. It’s tremendously human and therefore timeless. Anyone, regardless of their social status and cultural background, can comprehend it,” the group said.

In another act, a man with two broken arms in casts is trying to use a urinal with the help of a male nurse. In the middle of the act, the patient’s cell phone rings and the male nurse once again comes to the rescue.

“Here we see a life situation being twisted around to the extreme, to the point when it becomes hilarious. There is another act with the same patient who tries to smoke, despite his two broken arms in casts,” Bakeyev said. “They are trying to show what solution one can come up with in a desperate situation.”

“Bringing Tricicle to Moscow was a financially risky project, because they are virtually unknown to the Russian public and the market situation with the crisis is still tough,” Bakeyev said. “I am trying to make the public more sophisticated by demonstrating that there is much more than Flamenco to the contemporary Spanish culture.”

Tricicle performs Dec. 9, 10 and 11 at the Estrada Theater, 20/2 Bersenevskaya Naberezhnaya. (495) 959-0550, www.teatr-estrada.ru.