James Kenworth

When Chaplin Met Gandhi James Kenworth

It was the unlikeliest of encounters in the unlikeliest of places, but when Chaplin and Gandhi met in Canning Town, the men had more in common than they realised. They both knew cockney rhyming slang, they had similar nicknames (Little Tramp and Little Leader), and they both stuck up for the underdog. This play tells the story of Gandhi's remarkable 1931 visit to London, where he spent twelve weeks in the East End. While staying at Kingsley Hall, Gandhi met with local children, teaching the youngsters from the rough-and-tumble streets of East London his non-violent approach to the world. Charlie Chaplin, beloved across the world and in London at the time for the premier of his new film City Lights, requested to see Gandhi believing they had a special affinity for the poor and the working class.