When Chaplin Met Gandhi
In 1931, Gandhi came to London to press for the independence of India. Instead of staying in a West End hotel,
he chose to stay at Kingsley Hall, a community centre in Bow, East London. Charlie Chaplin was in London at the same time
for the British premiere of City Lights, and wanted to meet Gandhi.
Gandhi had no idea who Chaplin was, and was dismissed by Gandhi’s secretaries as ‘just a buffoon’, but
when he learnt that Chaplin’s art was rooted in the life of the working people, and that his movies gave a voice to
the plight of the poor, he agreed to the meeting.
When Chaplin Met Gandhi is a unique collaboration between professional theatre artists and East London secondary state schools,
involving a professional writer, director, designer and actors, working alongside drama students from schools in local East London
boroughs.
Founded in 1928 by social reformers Muriel and Doris Lester, and still a working community centre today, Kingsley Hall is the
rightful home of when Chaplin Met Gandhi. It was here that Gandhi stayed for three months in 1931, living and working among the
community of Bow, and where much of the action of the play takes place.
"There are strong central performances from Mark Oosterveen, who doesn’t attempt impersonation but plays the character as written,
and Divian Ladwa’s Gandhi. Pip Mayo, her silver hair worn in earphones like the real woman, captures exactly the right mixture of
primness and kindness as vegetarian pacifist Muriel Lester. DirectorMatthew Xia exercises a restraint that reflects Gandhi’s calm
in his fluid direction. He has also done an excellent job in getting committed performances from his young supporting cast drawn
from local young people. While holding with its presentation of character, this play also passes on a surprising amount of information
and in an educational context could provide a valuable starting point for exploration of the topics it touches on and discussion of
the issues it raises."
British Theatre Guide
“This delightful play re-imagines what happened when a leading celebrity met a political figure of the day.
The two characters could not be more different and yet they manged to click, especially if the performances of Divian Ladwa as Gandhi
and Mark Oosterveen as Chaplin are anything to go by. This is a show that mixes history and fiction to craft a fine piece of theatre
with a message for our times.”
The Public Reviews
“One was a Hollywood star famous for his funny walk and the other is the most prominent Indian of all time.
New play When Chaplin Met Gandhi focuses on a meeting between these two legends and highlights the similarities between them both.
The performance is set in Kingsley Hall in Bow, east London, where Mahatma Gandhi met comic Charlie Chaplin. Thev enue works very well,
with characters entering from different directions inches from the audience and a small screen showing archive footage. Overall, writer
Jim Kenworth’s play is an interesting take on two pint-sized men whose influence still lives on today.”
Eastern Eye