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Plays

The Tramp's Revenge

The Tramp's Revenge

The Tramp's Revenge is concerned with the relationship between creators and the objects of their creation.

It is easy to think of a character like Chaplin's tramp in isolation from Chaplin himself. To place photos of the two side by side, it is not immediately clear what a wealthy and successful movie star might have in common with a mere bum. Indeed, the idea of the wealthy man making his fortune by exploiting the misfortunes of his tramp figure seems altogether incongruous.

It is necessary to look behind the photos, and investigate Chaplin's background, in order for the link between the two figures to  become clear. Though he achieved a level of affluence beyond his wildest dreams, Chaplin's childhood was spent among the worst of the misery and squalor of Victorian London. A workhouse boy and street beggar, one wonders whether the wealthy man of later years was ever able to truly extricate himself from the original imprint of poverty and deprivation.

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