It opens in a near future; Sophie sports a blonde bob and is dressed head-to-toe in silver. As she begins to share her story digital interference thwarts her efforts. In just over an hour (without interval), and on a sparsely decorated stage, we’re transported back to Sophie’s nine-year-old self – Harlesden, 1982.

We’re introduced to her friends, ‘the gang of six’ with whom she plays; her mother who is deaf and relies on Sophie to interpret for her. The backdrop is made up of strips of brown paper (around 7 ft in length). The captioned words (by Josh Pharo) of the play appear here as they’re spoken.

As the years pass Sophie grows up like any other child of her era, she loves to sing, to dance and listens to trip hop music. However, as she gets older, she begins to find it difficult to hear. A world often taken for granted is now closing its door, bringing with it a sense of isolation, painfully expressed as Sophie finds solace in the vibrations of passing trains.

Rachel Bagshaw directs Sophie’s personal journey with consummate ease. We never question or become distracted by leaps in time from the 80s to the 90s, to the present day.

We follow Sophie as she navigates a strangely silent world, to one where her hearing is restored through medical technology. Sophie describes her cochlear implant as being ‘switched on’ – becoming a cyborg. We’re invited to laugh and lament with her as she questions the benefits of re-joining a hearing world.

The scenes following her surgery are particularly poignant. Upon being ‘switched-on’ Sophie hears the room ‘breathe’. She later comments that being ‘switched-on’ is like an LSD trip; for example, a double-decker bus engine sounds like pixelated bleeps; the family dog scratching, sounds like jazz. A new world dawns.

Sophie is advised that the first three months after this procedure are when the brain is at its most receptive (active). She ventures further into the city, floating down the London Underground escalators, reveling in the richness and tonality of everyday existence. But being ‘switched-on’ isn’t the easy journey Sophie believed it would be, and there are genuine heart-breaking moments.

Augmented is a beautifully conceived piece that acts as a rallying call, championing good accessible theatre and the benefits of cochlear implant surgery. A must see, whatever your background.

Augmented, the inaugural show from Augmented Productions in association with Told by An Idiot is at The Studio, The Royal Exchange Theatre from 5-7 March 2020.

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This part of Told by An Idiot’s story is true – strange only because of the stars these young men would later become. Chaplin and his screen persona, ‘The Tramp’ is still considered one of the most important figures in film history, while Laurel went on to become one half of the greatest comedy duo of all time, alongside Oliver Hardy.

We know little about what happened during the two years Chaplin and Laurel toured together. But as Artistic Director, Paul Hunter says of the show: ‘We were determined to value fiction over fact, fantasy over reality, and shine a very unusual light on a pair of show business legends’.

The production is more reminiscent of Chaplin than Laurel and Hardy, in so far as it is tells its story in the style of a silent movie – with mime, physical comedy, screen captions and live piano music, played brilliantly by Sara Alexander who also takes on the role of Chaplin’s troubled mother, Hannah. Occasionally the mime is broken by a song, including Chaplin’s famous, Smile. But for the most part, think of this as recreating a silent movie on stage.

Through a series of slapstick scenes, we get a glimpse of Chaplin’s impoverished Victorian background, with a drunken father and a mother restrained in a straitjacket. Amalia Vitale is convincing as Chaplin, mastering the comic genius’ trademark walk and mischievous sense of fun. Her character charms the audience and at one point literally reels them in for a surreal on-stage swim.

Vitale’s energetic performance is centre stage throughout, while the three other cast members play a variety of different roles. This means that Jerone Marsh-Reid, who we also see as a bell boy, a doctor and a landlord, doesn’t get as much of the limelight playing Stan Laurel. While Chaplin has his distinctive walk and cane, there is little here of Laurel’s famous puzzled head-scratching. His comedy partner, Oliver Hardy makes a brief appearance, with actor Nick Haverson donning a small moustache and stuffing a cushion up his top to become the larger than life star. However, the audience is left to make any emotional connection from their own recollections of the duo. That said, quick-footed Marsh-Reid makes a great sparring partner for Vitale with cartoon-style capers aplenty. He also shines during the dance scenes when his break-dancing background is used to dazzling effect.

Ioana Curelea’s multi-layered set, with steps and a fireman’s pole, creates a variety of spaces for innovative physical comedy within a relatively small space. For one hour 40 minutes the cast play on the set to create physical gag after physical gag. By the end we still don’t know any more of the facts of what happened on that transatlantic journey. But we get a sense of who these comedy giants were through their slapstick, escapist humour, and why their genius continues to inspire performers today.

The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel is at Home, Manchester from 4 to 8 February 2020.

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