Tonight...Charlie Chaplin
by Gillian Plowman

Charlie Chaplin was the very first icon of the silver screen and is one of the most recognisable faces in Hollywood.

But what of the man behind the moustache?

The director holding the camera as well as acting in front of it?

The cockney boy beneath the stage make-up?

Born into poverty and hardship and in the absence of his father, he spent most of his childhood in and out of orphanages and workhouses.

Charlie survived by making himself invulnerable.

This exuberance later became part of his screen persona.

The Little Tramp always picks himself up and walks jauntily into the distance.

I have always loved Charlie Chaplin, in particular the Little Tramp persona, so much of which was based on his early poverty-stricken life in London, a life to which I can trace my own roots - rags to riches is a persuasive theme!

Creating a scenario whereby the Little Tramp can speak to his older self enabled me to explore the themes of hope and nostalgia in a typically Chaplinesque, exuberant way!

- Gillian Plowman