Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin – Pleasance
If you want big budget spectacle, this is not the show for you. If you want to spend an hour wedged into a tiny basement with less than 50 people while laughing at the genius of Charlie Chaplin brought to life, then you have come to the right place. The Pleasance Below is a tiny venue, just a few rows of tightly packed raked seating, and when I was there, it was full. This is theatre in its most intimate form, no one more than a couple of metres from the performer, and absolutely nowhere to hide if you are picked for a bit of audience interaction.
Marcel Cole, who both wrote and performs Smile, takes on the impossible task of distilling Chaplin’s life and art into a single hour, and somehow makes it feel both complete and personal. The show mixes physical comedy, mime, and a light s...