[THEATRE & PHYSICAL THEATRE/Comedy Australian Capital Territory • SA PREMIERE]
by Adrian Miller
Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin sees writer/performer Marcel Cole take on the challenging role of perhaps the silent era’s most iconic star! The Clothesline contacted Marcel to ask him about his latest Fringe offering:
We saw you in Adelaide last year for the Fringe performing as George Formby. The physical resemblance was uncanny – you only had to hold a ukulele to look like George Formby! Was physical appearance a consideration in choosing Charlie Chaplin this time?
I guess it was a consideration but it definitely wasn’t my main motivation. With my characters, it’s far more about personality and what drives them than the way they look. If I can capture the essence, the look will come.
Was it difficult to choose which aspects of Charlie Chaplin’s long life to include in your show?
Yes! It was incredibly difficult to reduce a 500 page autobiography into an 18 page script! It took ages to find an angle and decide which stories to tell, but that was half the fun. I love the process of filtering the story over and over again, each time reassessing and cutting out more and more. I got to the eighth draft and then stopped counting!
In Ukulele Man you of course had to sing quite a lot of songs. Although the title of this show is a Charlie Chaplin song, and Chaplin went on to become a renowned songwriter, I presume there’s no singing this time around?
Oh well, you might be surprised. I don’t want to give too much away but I’ll admit that the show is not entirely silent… But also, Chaplin composed the music to most of his pictures and so the soundtrack for the show is full of Chaplin’s original compositions!
You trained as a dancer and as a clown, so Chaplin would seem to be a natural choice for you to take on as a role?
Well yes, exactly! It felt quite ambitious but offered a great challenge. There’s plenty of movement and physicality and lots of opportunity for fun and so it’s really a perfect show for me!
Did you choose a silent film character so there would not be so many lines to learn?
Darn, you’ve seen right through me! Haha yes, it is a big plus. It is far easier to improvise and work with the crowd when there aren’t so many words. But also,it’s the story of Charlie Chaplin, not just the Tramp, and so while the LittleTramp is the silent film character, Charlie Chaplin certainly spoke his fair share.
Will we learn things we my not have known about Charlie Chaplin by seeing your show?
Certainly! Everyone knows of Charlie Chaplin but not many people really know anything about him. Unless you’re a die hard Chaplin enthusiast – in which case you must come! – you’re sure to learn a thing or two about the famous entertainer. You don’t need to know anything about Chaplin to fully enjoy the show… but it is also full of little easter egg references for those in the know!
While it is mainly a one person show, you do include members of the audience in the performance?
Yes but it’s not something to worry about. One person marching around on stage for an hour can sometimes get a little lonely so I recruit a local cast to play all the side characters. The catch? No one knows until the night! But don’t worry, it’s all very heavily structured and everyone is working under strict instruction so no creative input is necessary. Genuinely don’t worry, it’s not your average awkward audience participation. Trust me on this one haha.
What have people been enjoying most about this show?
An established comedian friend recently came to see the show and was very impressed by how it genuinely catered to all ages. She said how rare it is that a show really speaks to the young and old alike and felt that this show has captured something really special. I thought that was a lovely comment. Her name is Kirsty Mann and she has a show in the festival called ‘Skeletons’. Go see it!
Do you think you will continue to write and perform shows about real life characters in the future?
I’m not sure. I love history and I like doing impressions, so it’s not unlikely. It’s also really hard to write a good show and so if you’re starting from scratch, you have your work cut out for you. Whereas, if you use existing stories, a lot of the work has already been done for you, which is a blessing. That being said, I do want to take what I’ve learned from my first two shows and have a crack at coming up with something more original. There are ideas, and I’ve been learning a couple of Elvis songs on the guitar… but nothing has been announced yet.
Is there anything you wish to add to encourage people to come along to see Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin?
In the words of Garry Starr, “the sooner you book a ticket, the less money I have to give to Mark Zuckerberg. Would you rather buy a coffee for an independent artist who is dedicating their life to the art of quality entertainment… or Mark Zuckerberg?” The choice is yours. Also, the show’s received three five star reviews out of only three star-rated reviews! So that’s fifteen out of fifteen stars! And also everyone seems really happy at the end of the show and wants to get photos and stuff like that so hopefully that means it’s pretty good. Also also, I’ll be in a small space and there are only 40 seats per show so it will fill up quickly, and so book soon to make sure you can get in for the night you want!
Once again, thank you for taking the time to respond to The Clothesline. We hope you enjoy your time at the Adelaide Fringe 2025.
Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin plays at the Circulating Library at The Courtyard of Curiosities at the Migration Museum at 6.20pm from Tues 11 Mar until Sun 23 Mar. Tix available HERE.
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