Charlie Chaplin鈥檚 most well-known on-screen character was the 鈥淭ramp,鈥� a bumbling man whose humor and playfulness guided audiences through some of the darkest periods of the early 20th century. After the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, renowned journalist and film critic James Agee urged Chaplin to bring back the Tramp. He wrote a screenplay and sent it to Chaplin, insisting that the Tramp鈥檚 humor and grace were essential to help the world heal from this tragedy. Chaplin declined, and the play faded mostly into oblivion.
A new one-man play on stage at in Durham brings the story back to life. 鈥溾�� mixes Agee鈥檚 screenplay with projections, silent film, and physical comedy to tell the story of how the 鈥淭ramp鈥� makes his way as the lone survivor of a super-atomic blast. The show is on stage through Saturday, Dec. 19. Host Frank Stasio talks to creator and performer Rob Jansen.
