★★★★
Adelaide Fringe. Marcel Cole. Courtyard of Curiosities, Migration Museum. 21 Feb 2026
Charlie Chaplin considered The Goldrush to be one of his finest works, so it seemed appropriate for Marcel Cole to open his homage to Chaplin with a condensed performance of this 1925 silent film. In the intimate space of the Chapel Theatre, treating the stage as a 3D film set with the movie screen as backdrop, is most effective.
Cole’s mime skills serve him well in his character creation; dressed as Chaplin’s famous Little Tramp’ replete with white face and toothbrush moustache, Cole inhabits the character effortlessly.
It’s a little jarring then, when he breaks the fourth wall and starts whispering to audience members, guiding them in stage moves and characterisations in the biographical part of his ‘interactive’ show. I’m not sure there’s another way to do this, but it’s initially odd all the same.
With so many characters required to inform his life story, Cole draws on various audience members to depict his mother, his wives, his brother etc, a device which of course has varying success, depending on the reaction and nous of those chosen. On this occasion, the choice for brother Sydney, after a shaky start, joined in with gusto, and clearly made a young man very happy to be part of the action.
Using a well-thumbed autobiography as his touchstone, Cole takes us through the highs and lows of Chaplin’s personal life and career, and the transition of the show from the silent era to ‘talkies’ is very effective, with Cole effecting a ‘terribly, terribly’ British accent, as did Chaplin in his talkies, which rather belies his boyhood which was shaped by poverty and workhouses.
There’s a lot of stage time devoted to The Great Dictator, Chaplin’s film in which he parodies Adolf Hitler. I’m still at a loss to understand the interpretive dance scene, in which Cole strips down to his underwear and tosses around a large white balloon whilst (skilfully) pirouetting and leaping about the stage, with gaff tape swastikas attached to his nipples. Art, eh? Reciting the closing monologue from the film, we are rudely reminded that plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose (the more things change, the more they stay the same).
It’s a bit of a rush through the McCarthy era, the accusations of Communism and his eventual exile from the US, and his triumphant return to receive an honorary Academy Award, but Chaplin’s life was so extraordinarily full that it’s almost impossible to condense it within an hour. Cole makes a fair fist of it, and it ends strongly and yes, leaves one wanting more.
Cole was last here with Ukulele Man, telling the story of George Formby, and he brings quite a skill set—acting, dancing, mime, singing—to writing and presenting this biographical form of theatre. There is a lot more to come from this young man.
Arna Eyers-White
When: 19 Feb to 8 Mar
Where: The Courtyard of Curiosities, Migration Museum
Bookings: adelaidefringe.com.au
