Marcel Cole as Charlie Chaplin
Arts Correspondent ANDY MOSELEY gives his verdict on SMILE: The Story of Charlie Chaplin; Mark Watson: Before It Overtakes Us; The Britpop Hour with Marc Burrows; Dots
SMILE: The Story of Charlie Chaplin
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Celebrating the life of Charlie Chaplin, SMILE is a masterclass in mime and physical comedy as well as a uniquely told and fascinating summary of the man who defined the silent movie era.
Opening with a recreation of the plot of the 1925 classic The Gold Rush, Marcel Cole goes on to guide audiences through Chaplin’s life from his humble beginnings through to his world conquering success, his triumphant but grudging move into talkies with The Great Dictator.
While primarily a comedy, the show also covers the end of his Hollywood career following his questioning as part of the McCarthy Unamerican Activity Hearings in the 1950s and the final years of his life in Switzerland.
It’s the way the story is told as much, if not more, than the story itself that is the draw of the show. Cole is a superb performer with impeccable comic timing. The audience members he draws into the show play their part to the full, revelling in the spotlight and allowing Cole to show off his full versatility both as a mime and a storyteller.
Whether you’re a fan of Chaplin or not, this is a must-see show.
Pleasance Courtyard (Below) 11.10am
Until 25 August (not 13)
Mark Watson
Mark Watson: Before It Overtakes Us
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Celebrating 20 years at the Edinburgh Fringe, Mark Watson returns to the Pleasance with the show that started life as a work in progress at The Stand in 2024.
Triggered by his experience trying to complain about a photo album that went to the wrong address, only to discover that the person he was speaking to might not have been real, the show is nominally about the advance of artificial intelligence and Watson’s fears about what it might mean for the world.
The future, he concludes, may not be as bleak as he first thought, and his journey there is also anything other than apocalyptic, as he digresses onto a range of topics with little or no connection to the theme of the show.
From presenting award ceremonies for meat companies and flights with low cost airliners, through to stalkers buying tickets for shows and audience members that weren’t born when he first played the fringe, Watson takes his set down many side routes without ever losing the audience or making you feel that he should stick to the script.
Twenty years into his fringe career, you would not bet against this being the start of the next twenty.
Pleasance Courtyard (Pleasance One) 7.30pm
Until 24 August (not Mondays)
The Britpop Hour with Marc Burrows
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If timing is everything in comedy, then Oasis currently being in Edinburgh is almost perfect for Marc Burrows look back at the Britpop era. The only things that make it slightly less than ideal for him is that the Gallagher brothers’ reunion has made accommodation in Edinburgh even more expensive than it usually is when the Fringe is on, and he actually preferred Blur, Pulp and Suede, as shown when he notes that Oasis are the only band he can remember who got worse after they brought more talented musicians into the band.
The many Oasis fans in the audience take it all in their stride and join Burrows on this light-hearted trip back to an era when indie music became king and bands that would previously have been lucky to dent the top 40 were selling half a million records and battling it out to have the number one single.
A show aimed primarily at people who were there, it leaves you with a warm sense of nostalgia and the desire to go home and put on a Pulp album.
Dairy Room at Underbelly Bristo Square 6.10pm
Until 25 August (not 11)
Dots
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Part of the Asia Base season at theSpace @ Niddry St, Dots is a one woman show that looks at the struggles of a high achiever who escapes from a life and career she doesn’t feel she belongs in and instead begins a possibly one-sided love affair with the stage.
With a simple but imaginative set, writer and performer Annie Cheung dives deep into the psychology of why people can come to be in an endless quest to improve themselves and be the best version of whatever it is they want to be rather than accept who they are and enjoy all that life has to offer.
Her delivery is sharp and engaging and physical movement combines superbly with the text of the play to create a truly engaging show.
Other shows included as part of the season are Ah-Ma, a new play from Cathy Lam Arts Collective which links together the 2024 Los Angeles wildfires and a Grandmother’s battle with dementia in another compelling show from the company who were responsible for 2023 Fringe First winner A Funeral for My Friend Who is Still Alive.
theSpace @Niddry Street (11am Ah-Ma, 1pm Dots)
Until 19 August (not 10)
See here for reviews of Hal Cruttenden, Make It Happen, Mark Vigeant, The Spy Who Went to Rehab
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