Charlie & Stan

Jerone Marsh Reid Danielle Bird Nick Haverson Sara Alexander 1920x1080 1
Danielle Bird Jerone Marsh Reid 2 1920x1080 1
Nick Haverson 1 1920x1080 1
Jerone Marsh Reid 2 1920x1080 1
Danielle Bird Sara Alexander 1920x1080 1
Danielle Bird 1 1920x1080 1
Jerone Marsh Reid Nick Haverson Danielle Bird 1920x1080 1
Nick Haverson 2 1920x1080 1
Show Information
Showing on:
Sat 11 February 2023
Duration:
80mins with no interval
Price:
Genre:
Array
Venue:
Theatre
Age Guidance:
All Ages

Following a sell-out run in 2021, Told by an Idiot are taking their ★★★★★ production, Charlie and Stan, back on the road for 2023 and it’s coming to Colchester for 5 nights only!

This 80-minute jam-packed show is non-stop entertainment, and tells the true(ish) story of the greatest comedy double act that ‘almost’ was; Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel (the Laurel of Laurel and Hardy fame).

From their early days in showbiz sharing a stage, and even sharing a cabin on a voyage to New York, Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel went on to become two of the biggest stars of the age. Stan Laurel, however, is not mentioned in Chaplin’s autobiography once. So what happened?

Accompanied by live music throughout (composed by MOBO Award winning jazz musician Zoe Rahman) this hilarious homage to the silent movie era, and to two young comedians on a voyage of self-discovery, is a guaranteed good night out not to be missed.

★★★★ ‘Can’t help but leave the broadest of grins on its audiences’ faces’ – Reviews Hub.

A Told by an Idiot production.
Originally produced by Told by an Idiot and Theatre Royal Plymouth with Royal & Derngate, Northampton and Unity Theatre, Liverpool and co-commissioned by London International Mime Festival.

Digital Programme

View the Digital Programme

Accessibility

All performances are accessible to D/deaf audiences. The story is told using physical theatre, without words – in the style of a silent movie, featuring occasional intertitles to help tell the story. There are two songs in the show that are not captioned.

Click here to read the lyrics

On Sat 11 Feb at 2:30pm, there will be an Audio Described performance. This will be accompanied by a Touch Tour prior to the show, for those that require it, and can be booked with your tickets online.

If you require, you can listen to the Audio Described introduction to the show, or download a text version to be read by a screen reader at the links below.

Introduction to the show – for Screen Readers

Booking for a school?

Early bird tickets for schools are £11.50 (including levy) and for every 10 tickets you buy the 11th is free for a teacher or member of support staff. To secure your tickets at this exclusive price you need to pay for your order by the end of the Summer term (July 2022).

You can book today (and even pre-order your ice cream) by filling in our form or by calling our customer experience team on 01206 573948. Please be aware the form will ask you for your first and second choice performances dates and times, so please do have a look through the performance schedule below before heading over to the form.

Schools Order Form

Videos

Other events

Join us for a post show Q&A after the performance on Wed 8 Feb, 7.30pm.

Take part in our Masterclass: The Way of the Idiot on Sat 11 Feb, 11am-2pm.

Book Masterclass

Danielle Bird

Danielle’s theatre credits include: Pretty Sh***y Love (Theatre Clwyd); Alice In Wonderland (New Victoria Theatre, Stoke); The Comedy Of Errors (Mercury Theatre, Colchester); Beauty and The Beast (New Victoria Theatre, Stoke); Charlie & Stan (Told by an Idiot, UK Tour); The Comedy of Errors (Storyhouse Theatre); The Prince and The Pauper (New Victoria Theatre, Stoke); The Worst Witch (Vaudeville Theatre); Astley’s Astounding Adventures (New Victoria Theatre, Stoke); Aladdin (Theatre Royal, Wakefield); The Hypocrite (Hull Truck/Royal Shakespeare Company); Macbeth (Shakespeares Globe Theatre); NotMoses (Arts Theatre); The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (Birmingham REP); Alice’s Adventures Underground (Les Enfants Terribles); Comedy of Errors, Macbeth, A Midsummer Nights Dream, Othello and Cyrano De Bergerac (Chester Performs/Grosvenor Open Air Theatre); Princess and The Pea (York Theatre Royal); Father Christmas and The Icicle Bicycle, Tea Time (Oxford Playhouse); The Prince and The Pauper (Unicorn Theatre), Colin Hoult’s Real Horror Show (Leicester Square Theatre); No Ball Games (New Wolsey Theatre); As You Like It (Principal Theatre); Slick (Scarabeus Theatre Dance Company); Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet (Young Shakespeare Company); Magician’s Assistant (You Me Bum Bum Train). Danielle also performs stilt walking, puppetry and storytelling shows with the circus theatre company Circo Rum Ba Ba.TV credits include: Hapless (Magnet Films); Vengeance (Light Films); The Investigator (ITV/Netflix); The Wives Did It (Discovery); Holby City (BBC) & The Double Life of Morton Coyle (The Comedy Unit/BBC).Film credits include: Now You See Me 2 (Lionsgate); A Running Jump, Mike Leigh’s Olympic film (BBC Films/Film4).

Sara edited

Sara Alexander

Sara is Brit-Sardinian and a graduate of the University of Bristol and Drama Studio London.

Theatre Credits include: The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel (Told by an Idiot); A Pacifists Guide to the War on Cancer (Complicite); Rejoicing at Her Wondrous Vulva The Young Woman Applauded Herself (Offie nominated, All About You theatre company & Oval House); World’s Apart and The Wizard of Oz (RSC); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (National Theatre Outreach); Romeo and Juliet/Twelfth Night (Globe Players Theatre Company); Much Ado About Nothing (Bedouin Shakespeare Company/Globe Theatre Rome); Pygmalion (Tour De Force Theatre Company).

TV credits include: The Mysti Show, Hounded, Doctor Who, Waking the Dead, Eastenders, Doctors, Casualty (BBC); Presenter (CBeebies).

Film credits include: Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Warner Bros); Sparrow (Franco Zeffirelli).

Sara is an associate artist with All About You theatre company and is also a published novelist with HarperCollins. Her latest novel, The Last Concerto was released August 2019. Previous titles are Under a Sardinian Sky and The Secret Legacy.

www.saraalexander.net

Nick Edited

Nick Haverson

Nick trained at LAMDA.

His Theatre credits include: The Yeoman of the Guard (The Grange Festival); Charlie & Stan (Told by an Idiot); Loves Labour’s Lost & Won (Much Ado About Nothing) (RSC Stratford & Haymarket London); Too Clever By Half (Royal Exchange Manchester, Told by an Idiot); Ben Hur (Watermill Newbury); The Devil and Mr.Punch (Improbable, Philadelphia USA/ Barbican UK); ‘1984’ (Northern Broadsides); Low Pay, Don’t Pay (Salisbury Playhouse); The Lost Voice (Southbank Centre); The Venetian Twins (Bolton Octagon); Ruby Moon (Northern Stage); Satyagraha (Improbable at London Coliseum/Metropolitan Opera House, NY); Theatre Of Blood (Improbable at The National Theatre); The Hanging Man (Improbable US tour & Sydney Opera House); And The Horse You Rode In OnBeauty & The Beast (Told by an Idiot); The Pirates of Penzance (Orange Tree, Richmond); The Solid Gold Cadillac (Garrick); By Jeeves (Duke of York /Lyric); The Magic Carpet (Lyric Hammersmith).

TV credits include: Scott & BaileyTales from the Old BaileyThe MimicThank God You’re Here (series); Ashes to AshesSpooksNew TricksCasualtyHead Over Heels (series, for which he also recorded the title song ); Murder Rooms -The Dark Beginnings Of Sherlock HolmesSundayA Fatal InversionLast Days of AshendenThe BillRedemptionDevices and DesiresAbsolutely TrueWyrd sisters (The Worst Witch 2).

Films include: MatriarchMuppets Most Wanted; Tim Burton’s Sweeney ToddHilary & JackieSusie GoldThe Tales of Despereaux (animation); Gulliver’s TravelsMen Who Sleep in Cars.; Original Skin (BBC short); Gli Zii (short); Sherman (Short).

Radio: HildaThe Barchester ChroniclesTwo to TandemMen Who Sleep in CarsBy Jeeves (BBC Radio 4); The Edge (BBC Radio York).

Jerone edited

Jerone Marsh-Reid

Jerone Marsh-Reid trained on the Physical Theatre course at East 15 Acting School.

Theatre credits include: Marvellous (@sohoplace); 4 Walls (Derby Theatre); Marvellous (New Victoria Theatre Newcastle); Charlie and Stan / The Strange Tale of Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel (Told by an Idiot ); The Deep (Clifftown Theatre); The Things I’ve Dismissed (Clifftown Theatre, Project Lockout); Feel The Fear (Camden Fringe / Fusion Festival, Project Lockout); Mood (Clifftown Theatre); Breathe The Beat (UK Tour).

Outdoor Arts include: Catch Me (Upswing, European Tour); Get Happy (Told by an Idiot).

Films and Music videos include: 7 Deadly Idiots (Told by an Idiot); Still Got Time (Zayn Malik Ft PartyNextDoor); Not Letting Go (Tinie Tempah and Jess Glynne); You Want Me (Tom Zinneti); Maybe? (The Beach); Fam That’s Peak (Arnold Jorge and Stormzy).

Created by Told by an Idiot
Writer and Director Paul Hunter
Designer Ioana Curelea
Lighting Designer Aideen Malone
Composer Zoe Rahman
Physical Comedy Consultant Jos Houben
Song Arrangement Sophie Cotton
Dance Choreography Nuna Sandy for ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company
Video Designer Dom Baker
From an idea by Irene Cotton

★★★★★

‘Hilarious… A riotous masterclass in storytelling’

WhatsOnStage

★★★★

‘Seldom less than magical’

Guardian

★★★★

Invention stuffed and music crammed… A glimpse of the double that could have been in this silly, sublime treat’

Daily Telegraph

★★★★

‘Noisy mime that tells a thousand comic words’

Daily Mail

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