Opening the eyes to the world

The new DVD "Books without Words" by mime actor Carlos Martínez revolves around reading, writing and literature

They tell stories. They are full of images. They are fun and make you laugh. They make you think and stimulate the imagination. They can comfort you, give you confidence and they caress the soul. The stage pieces of Spanish mime actor Carlos Martínez are like "books without words", they speak, sometimes profoundly, other times with liberating ease - of the first and last things, of the important and of the insignificant, of the known and the unknown. They reveal feelings. They revolve around the political, philosophical and the poetic as well as the very mundane and the deeply human. In his new DVD "Books without Words", a reflection of the corresponding stage show, Carlos Martínez gathers ten master pieces related to literature, reading and writing. And like good books and good plays do, they invite us to open our eyes to the world. And Carlos Martínez does all this in his multi-faceted way: comic and serious, funny and tragic, subtle and defiant, sensual and sober, frenetic and cool.

The mime, face painted white, collects a whole pile of books in the library not without adding the last volume from the very top of the shelf. He blows off the dust, which promptly makes him sneeze, he turns the pages, admires the illustrations, reads the texts; and suddenly he finds himself immersed in the stories: with William Tell he picks up his crossbow, with Sherlock Holmes he solves an intricate case, and with James Bond he chases the bad guys. And who is responsible for giving us the chills? And whose nose is getting longer and longer with each lie? This silent sequence of images not only makes you want to guess the characters hidden between the covers of the books that Carlos Martínez is bringing to life, but also to once again delve into reading the literary work yourself.

Carlos Martínez, who has been a guest on stages all over the world for over 30 years, was a passionate reader as a young boy. Even today he gives writing and reading credit for the important role they play in the creation of his narratives without words: "I love to make notes in books, to emphasize and underline sections, sentences and words. Then I re-read them, write them down, paraphrase them and finally convert them into action. I describe the actions in my own words, and then incorporate them into my gesture dictionary." The pieces of Carlos Martínez not only captivate you due to the precise technique that he imprints on his movements, facial expressions, and body language. Carlos Martínez has the inimitable ability to allow his stories to take a sudden change in direction in a split second: With a wink he turns from right to left, he switches from the outside into the inside, from fast motion to slow motion, from ancient to ultra modern, from huge to mini and back again. When the writer of the love letter goes from the tender love to raging fury, when an aquarium visitor goes from spectator to unexpectedly swimming behind the glass, when an innocent walk down to the basement mutates into a horror story … in these magical moments the viewer asks: Is it a dream? Is it a game? Is this real? Is that him? Or is it me? And who am I?

"Books without Words" was recorded in front of a live audience in the Regina Vogue Theatre in Curitiba, Brazil, and the DVD shows-off the silent art of Carlos Martínez in long shots, in close-ups, in detail, in dialogue with the audience and —especially moving— in the reflection of the faces of the audience, who smiling happily, grinning broadly or laughing to tears, wide awake and completely concentrated and fully absorbed with mouths wide open, give evidence to their surprise over and over again while they let themselves be seduced by the reading of these "Books without Words".

In addition to the 55-minute show, for which Carlos Martínez won the Audience Award at the 5th TeatroAgosto Festival in Fundão, (Portugal), the DVD contains 50 minutes of bonus material. Including a menu in seven languages, a bonus show "… without Words", a photo gallery, a making-of, an interview, a book reading and in addition a comment from Carlos Martínez about each individual piece.

The DVD can be ordered here: http://www.carlosmartinez.es/catalogue/

Carlos Martínez was born in Pravia (Asturias), Spain. At the age of 12, he moved to Barcelona and soon discovered his love for the dramatic arts while working in neighbourhood theatre. He attended the pantomime school Taller de Mimo y Teatro Contemporáneo (1980), the performing arts school - El Timbal (1981) and studied under professors such as Manuel Carlos Lillo and Jorge Vera (1982 - 1987). From 1982 onwards, Carlos Martínez has worked professionally as a mime actor creating a world of gestures that combines his Mediterranean spirit and humour with precise technique and rhythm. He is constantly moving the boundaries of silence, working on new pieces for his own shows and commissioned work for special events. Hand Made, a compilation of his most emblematic pieces, has become a genuine mark of identity. Carlos Martínez has developed shows such as Books without Words, Silent Night, performed in ensemble with his best students, PianOmime, with the German pianist-composer, Johannes Nitsch, My Bible, as a homage to the best-selling book of all times and Human Rights, symbol of our hope, but also of our frustrations. To commemorate his 25th stage anniversary, Carlos Martínez presented his show, Time to Celebrate. In 2012, another jubilee year, he was touring with Mirage, inspired by the discussion around climate change and water shortage. The show is also a homage to his craft, all mime is mirage, creating life from gesture. His programme Books without Words was the audience choice at the 2009 TeatroAgosto summer festival in Fundão, Portugal and Hand Made received the prize of honour at the 2004 edition of the Almada Theatre Festival, Portugal. In recognition of his work, the German foundation Bibel und Kultur, awarded Carlos Martínez its annual prize for 2002 that goes to an artist who communicates biblical content through media of modern art. Past winners of this prestigious award include singer, Peter Schreier and film director Krzysztof Kieslowski. Carlos Martínez has participated in the formation of various theatre groups and has taught mime and theatre in public schools, at the University of Zaragoza and at numerous international art seminars. He runs elite summer mime courses, tutors advanced students and gives Master classes at corporate events. He has published four DVDs, Hand Made, My Bible, Human Rights and Books without Words, two manuals on mime In Silence and Word of Mime and most recently, the hardcover book, From the Dressing Room.

Presscontact Carlos Martínez:
Jenny Findeis Promotion & More
Stauffenbergstr. 15
73760 Ostfildern
Germany
Tel: +49/711/300 20 774

This release was published on openPR.