Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin ***

Charlie Chaplin is perhaps the greatest physical comedian of all time. But he was so much more than that. Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin shines a light on some of his life.

Born in South London poverty, he was sent to a workhouse aged just seven. Anyone familiar with his later tramp-pathos work will not have to look far for the inspiration. He later lands work at a circus, which tours to Vaudeville, USA. He is spotted by Max Sennett of Keystone Studios, signed up, and by 1918 is perhaps the most famous man on the planet. He co-founded United Artists, giving him artistic and distribution control over his work.

Chaplin wrote, directed, and produced his own material, even down to composing music, including Smile, the title of this production.

Aficionados of Singin’ in the Rain will know the pivotal moment for the film industry when talkies became fashionable. Chaplin resisted this for some considerable time, producing City Lights and Modern Times without dialogue. He relented with The Great Dictator, satirising Hitler.

He fell under the gaze of the House Committee on Un-American Activities. His friend Hanns Eisler was deported for being a communist, and Chaplin was forced to relocate to Switzerland, returning many years later to receive a lifetime achievement Academy Award.

He was married four times and fathered 11 children, his last wife being the daughter of playwright Eugene O’Neill. A life less ordinary indeed.

Marcel Cole tells Chaplin’s story using clowning, mime, narrative, silent-movie-style backdrops, and significant audience participation. He is clearly a skilled artist, with almost balletic movement.

Cole’s show came to Edinburgh in the wake of various five-star reviews and accolades. Audience participation can be a hit-or-miss affair, and on this occasion, it was decidedly the latter, undermining the show. The narrow and raked space gave the performer a hill to climb. He scampers through already claustrophobic rows of seats with audience members hastily grabbing drinks and bags, encountering reluctant or simply inadequate participants. I doubt the audience-scripted dialogue was audible beyond the first rows, and the giant balloon-comedy bit simply does not work in this environment, clattering into one of the Fresnel lights. A shame, because the story and performer are definitely interesting.