dumb show

a part of a dramatic representation given in pantomime, common in early English drama.

gestures without speech.

Origin of dumb show

First recorded in 1555–65

dumb-show, adjective

He withdrew thereupon, by order, straightway from Vienna; testifying in dumb-show what he thought.

History of Friedrich II. of Prussia, Vol. XII. (of XXI.) |Thomas Carlyle
Murders that cannot find room elsewhere are perpetrated in dumb-show, ghosts within the wings cry out Vindicta!

The Growth of English Drama |Arnold Wynne
They walk up and down, moving their lips in dumb-show memorising.

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories |Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
And by keeping the pipe firmly in his mouth he could prolong indefinitely the dumb-show of suffocation and hilarity.

Swann's Way |Marcel Proust

This dumb-show could not fail to attract the observation of Content.

The Wept of Wish-Ton-Wish |James Fenimore Cooper

dumb show

a part of a play acted in pantomime, popular in early English drama

meaningful gestures; mime