Review: Smile: The Charlie Chaplin Story, Pleasance Dome

This sixty-minute show delights from start to finish. Marcel Cole returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with a beautifully honed production, this time immersing a packed audience in the comic genius of Charlie Chaplin.

Chaplin’s autobiographical story is extraordinary and at times, deeply sad. Cole takes us through the transition to the talkies and Chaplin’s fateful and brave decision to make The Great Dictator, a film that satirised Adolf Hitler but ultimately contributed to Chaplin’s downfall in Hollywood, where he became increasingly hounded as a suspected communist sympathiser.

Cole incorporates mime, projected story cards and audience participation with remarkable technical skill and nuance. His audience quickly trusts him and willingly plays along. Several participants are brought into the story, helping to craft the narrative and maximise the many laughs. With minimal props, Cole repeatedly returns to a red hardback book containing the story of Chaplin’s life. Like all great artists, he draws out a rich smorgasbord of emotions, guiding us through the pivotal moments of Chaplin’s career, relationships and business dealings.

The mood shifts as we enter the closing chapter of Chaplin’s career, when Hollywood was not ready to understand or accept his politics. His subsequent banishment from the US lasted for twenty years, until he returned to receive an honorary award, just five years before his death. Cole handles this material brilliantly, punctuating the obvious sadness with irreverent humour. He returns to his participants, rewarding the audience with kindness and deft control, seamlessly reintroducing them into the story.

This is far more than a homage to Chaplin’s genius. It is an extremely clever re-enactment, blending occasional contemporary dialogue with iconic images from cinema’s past. Cole is such a skilled performer that he can effortlessly woo and hold his audience spellbound.

Chaplin is honoured exquisitely. Cole’s next project is a show about George Formby, which, if this production is anything to go by, will be eagerly awaited.

Written & performed by Marcel Cole

Smile: The Charlie Chaplin Story plays at The Pleasance Dome until Monday 31 August as part of the Edinburgh Fringe