Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it’s breaking

The above two lines start the song Smile by Charlie Chaplin. To mention the song is relevant to this review in two ways: a) it is the title of the show; and b) it tends to sum up the late, great Chaplin’s life – if one smiles or laughs their way through life, they can handle whatever is thrown at them. Charlie Chaplin had plenty thrown at him: from having his father abandon him when he was only a child and his mother institutionalized in an asylum through to paternity suits, various marriages, being accused of being a Communist and finally deported from America, only to return quickly in the Seventies, just before his death, to receive a Life Achievement award at the Academy Awards.

Don’t despair though, this production is a sparkling gem deftly crafted by mime artist and performer Marcel (great name for a mime!) Cole. Where Richard Attenborough’s film Chaplin and Christopher Curtis’ Chaplin The Musical took around two and a half hours to tell the little Tramp’s story, Cole pares it down to an hour while still managing to leave in all the salient facts – with the help of a few guest stars, i.e. some audience members (all cleverly directed by Cole/Chaplin himself).

Smile: The Story Of Charlie Chaplin is every inch a fitting tribute to perhaps the greatest ‘clown’ of all time. It is very funny, but at the same time full of beautiful pathos and drama – not unlike Chaplin’s films. Cole does not let up for one minute making us believe he is indeed Chaplin, bounding around the venue and on the go non-stop. Even when he speaks (yes, it’s not all mime) it’s with Chaplin’s cultured English accent and soft tone.

Cole has obviously researched his subject fervently – as shown by his recreation of Chaplin’s The Gold Rush and his version of Hitler dancing with a floating World globe from The Great Dictator (the very first time Chaplin spoke in the movies). In this segment, Cole seems to meld Chaplin and Reg Livermore to give the audience quite a memorable theatrical moment. Another beautiful and memorable moment, especially for this reviewer, was when Charlie sang Smile to his last wife Oona. The song itself is lovely, but Cole added so much more to it with his stunning rendition.

The venue, the old Circulating Library, is a perfect match for this show. It exudes the atmosphere of any wood paneled library in any Beverly Hills mansion of the Golden Age of Hollywood – and Cole uses it well.

All this reviewer can say to finish off, is if Cole doesn’t win a Fringe award for this production, then there is no justice in the world.