Silence is golden as early giants of comedy set sail

Before they became famous, Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel shared a cabin on a cruise to New York. STUART LARGE reports on a stage show inspired by their working relationship

AWARD-WINNING theatre company Told By An Idiot has a reputation for tackling the diverse and intriguing. Their latest touring production, The Strange Tale Of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel, is proving no different. Writer/co-founder Paul Hunter takes us back to 1910 when a hardly known Chaplin and Laurel were recruited for Fred Karno’s Music Hall troupe and set sail for New York, sharing a cabin.

The pair then spent two years together touring North America, with Laurel as Chaplin’s understudy.

Laurel later found success with his soulmate Oliver Hardy, while Chaplin developed his Little Tramp character and within five years became one of the most famous figures in the world.

Strangely, in Chaplin’s highly detailed autobiography Laurel is never mentioned, whereas Laurel talked about Chaplin all his life. Playing fast and loose with the facts and with an original piano score composed by Mercury Award nominee Zoe Rahman played live each night, The Strange Tale Of Charlie Chaplin And Stan Laurel is no nostalgic bio-drama.

Instead, it’s an hilarious and deeply moving homage to two men who changed the world of comedy forever.

How did you land the role of Chaplin?

I was playing a dog in the stage show Beginners and Paul (Hunter) saw it. He contacted me afterwards to say he loved it and would I come to London for a week of development. Originally Charlie and Stan were cast as older actors but then he decided I would be the right fit.

Has playing Chaplin changed your view about him?

Yes, hugely. He made over 80 films and I’m halfway through them. I was always keener on Keaton but then when I started watching Chaplin I thought ‘wow, this is fascinating’. Chaplin works on two layers – abject darkness and featherlight comedy – and blends them seamlessly like no-one else.

What type of role do you enjoy most?

I don’t really care as long as it’s interesting. I like to be in the creative process and what I love about this is everyone contributes,

Amalia Vitale and Jerone Marsh-Reid in The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel.

you’re all in a room and you make it happen.

You’ve only recently graduated. What was your first role?

I left university early because I was offered a role in circus movement for Upswing. From that job I moved into this job really.

What was the audition like for Laurel?

I had to create a movement piece in mime. Then I got called back to a second interview to perform with Amalia and we really gelled.

Stan Laurel is from way back. How did you do your research?

I remember watching Laurel & Hardy a lot as a child with my Mum. When the audition came through it made me go deeper into it. Paul gave me a stack of books, but I find it easier to watch than read.

Where do you get your acting genes from?

My Dad is very outgoing, my Mum was a full-time mum. I think from an early age I liked to show-off and it just flowed from there. I’m the first in the family to do this.

Yours was an unusual route in to the show. What happened?

Zoe (the composer) and I met outside a tap class, two bleary-eyed mums on a Saturday morning. I’m very nosey so I asked ‘what do you do?’ Zoe appealed to me, she had an artistic vibe about her. She asked if I wanted to meet the writers.

You describe yourself as an ‘actor who plays music’ so was the audition daunting?

Yes! I went into the room and played Manhattan, then a blues scale and tried to emulate Zoe’s style, making it bright and percussive. I felt like Paul was taking a risk but here I am!

How long did you have to learn the music?

Five weeks. It’s the first time I’ve ever had to learn an hour and a half’s music. Zoe was very encouraging and pushed for me to have the time to rehearse. She made me learn it ‘bar by bar’ to start with, and some of it by sight. It was special.

The show is in mime. Does that add to the pressure of composing?

The writing process was very unusual, improvisation is integral to the story. Musically the show is rooted in the ragtime/blues era of the 1910s but with a contemporary flavour encompassing jazz, music hall and silent film music.

How does music help in the storytelling process?

It was such a joy to write themes for the various characters and to allow space for the cast to interpret these, and improvise in their own way each night.

Reviews have been very favourable so far. Will you work with Told By An Idiot again?

I hope so. It is always so fantastic working with them as they create a space for improvisational story telling that has the immediacy, creativity and very essence of jazz at its heart.

The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel runs at the Birmingham Rep Theatre from February 25-29.