Diehard fans of mime mustn't miss Apple, a one-man mime performance about different choices in life, to be staged by Nadading Troupe in Beijing next week.

The hero, who was born with a silver spoon, is kicked out by his family and loses everything.

The young man becomes a vagabond. One day, he happens to see a flying witch drop an apple. He picks the fruit up and wonders what will happen if he eats it.

"The apple represents choice," director and actor Wang Zi says.

"It symbolizes our various choices in life. To eat or not to eat - that is the question."

The mime performance Apple, featuring director and actor Wang Zi, will be staged by Nadading Troupe in Beijing next week.

The man has no idea if it's a poisonous or a magical apple that may change his life. He takes the fruit with him and encounters many situations that change his thoughts and choices about eating the apple.

If you go:   7:30 pm, March 28-30. Penghao Theater, 35 Dongmianhua Hutong (off Nanluoguxiang), Dongcheng District, Beijing 010-6400-6472

For example, people laugh at him when he has no money to pay for his meal in the restaurant. He fights them and gets beaten up. In such a situation, he feels eager to eat the apple.

"The play puts forward a question about choice, rather than provide a solution," Wang explains.

"I can't answer the question and just want audiences to be aware of its importance."

Wang says the hero's face is that of a crying clown, who's naive, naughty and clumsy. He often screws up and acts ridiculously.

Two actors performed the show in Beijing last July. The upcoming show is adapted to have only one actor.

"Mime is just a means of expression," producer Deng Bin says.

"Some people express ideas through words. Others communicate through body language. Mime has no boundaries, such as language barriers. Human beings all learn to speak. They're not born with the skill," she continues.

"Language is neglected because it can sometimes cause ambiguity. Physical performance allows audiences, who have to concentrate while watching mime, to use their own imaginations."

Wang and his friend, musician Jing Yang, founded Nadading Troupe, which claims to be Beijing's only mime troupe, last March. It now has four regular members. The group performed its first play on a park lawn and has since produced five works.

Deng says mime is not mainstream. Most fans are in their 20s and 30s, because young people like novelty.

"Live music is important," Jing says.

"It helps the actor express emotions and audiences to understand the mime. I play guitar and flute beside the stage so that I can see the actor and play music in accordance with his performance."

Wang says the performance art genre offers dynamic means of expression.

"We uses humor to express sadness," Wang says.

"And mime can both make audiences laugh and cry."

xulin@chinadaily.com.cn