In a world of clashing cultures and beliefs, body language may be the best way to strip away barriers between people. American deaf theatre company Quest believe it works. They are in Hong Kong for a month-long cultural exchange and will stage their internationally renowned play Mosaic next weekend.
With a set made up of two chairs and the only costumes black trench coats, Mosaic adopts a simple way of addressing everyday global conflicts such as religion and politics.
First staged in Vienna in 2005, the mime has been performed throughout the United States, Europe and Australia.
'There's so much going on in the world. It's impossible to express all the issues in one play. We can only select central elements such as nationality or politics and pick up on small things to act out. We hope the play projects the bigger picture to our audience,' said Luis Aguilar, one of the deaf actors in Mosaic.
Discussing world affairs without speaking may seem impossible, but another actress Tami Santimyer points out that the body is powerful enough to convey ideas to other people.
'We deliberately started with the physical movements. We wanted to make sure that our gestures could connect with the audience,' she said.
'Background music was added at a later stage, so [the play] is lead by movements, not music.'
