ScotsGay Magazine

***

There is so much to Chaplin’s life that I had no idea what this would focus on. The poverty of his youth? His rapid rise to fame? His acting? His sex life? His politics? Or quite possibly something else entirely. I was not expecting a frail old man to come on stage, which Utton managed effortlessly. While telling of his life he gradually changed into the tramp with the cane we all know. This was followed by sections of film where it took me quite a long time to work out whether they were of Chaplin himself or Utton playing the man (I think the latter). As ever brilliant acting by Utton however I feel that Utton himself faced with so much material on Chaplin’s life couldn’t decide what to focus on either and in the end spread himself too thinly without going into sufficient detail of any specific area. There is much in this to admire and I would be interested to see a production of this with a different director.

Martin Powell

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