'Breathtaking' mini-musical 'The Tramp' opens in Cape Town after rave reviews in Joburg

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Paula Luckhoff

6 October 2025 | 7:48

Daniel Anderson is the star of 'The Tramp' about the show and the legacy of Charlie Chaplin.

'Breathtaking' mini-musical 'The Tramp' opens in Cape Town after rave reviews in Joburg

Daniel Anderson in The Tramp. Image: Artscape on Facebook

Sara-Jayne Makwala King with actor Daniel Anderson

Sara-Jayne Makwala King with actor Daniel Anderson

Timeless comedian Charlie Chaplin is best remembered for his "Tramp" character - the combination of the bowler hat, the little moustache and shuffling gait are instantly recognisable around the world.

But behind the silent film icon was a man of contradictions: a comedic genius haunted by controversy, exiled by politics, and overshadowed by his own creation.

A new South African "mini-musical" tells the story of Charlie Chaplin through the perspective of his old friend, this beloved Tramp character.

It played to rave reviews in Johannesburg, and now The Tramp has opened in Cape Town.

The production is on at the Artscape Arena for a limited run until 11 October.

The Charlie Chaplin musical is the brainchild of national touring theatre company Wela Kapela, and stars Daniel Anderson.

He sketches how the team wanted to really challenge themselves, into the fourth year of touring their award-winning musical Vincent

"We never set out to make a style, but somehow... we've created a format, which is traditional cabaret but we don't bill it as such. We started that when we did the show about Vincent van Gogh. People expected me to come out in fishnet stockings and tell the story of the artist in some jazzy way but it's not that and neither is this piece - what we now call it is a 'pocket musical' because it's condensed: 85 minutes, one man, one pianist, no interval."
Daniel Anderson, Actor

On the back of the success of Vincent, Anderson remarks that you never want to stay stagnant as an artist and as an artistic team.

They decided it was time to challenge themselves "on all levels", he says.

"Director Amanda Bothma said to me, 'Daniel you are going to do things you never thought you would do in your life'... There were no limits, no boundaries... so I really feel that whatever happens with this piece, we've achieved something for ourselves because we've challenged ourselves on so many levels and I feel accomplished in that way."
Daniel Anderson, Actor

Anderson highlights the brilliance and at the same time the "misunderstoodness" of Charlie Chaplin, and how the comedian himself, as well as the Tramp, are universal characters.

The production explores the complicated bond between an artist and the character they create.

 

"I learned how incredibly shy and insecure Chaplin was, how scared of poverty and rejection... and how out of that fear he created this unique and groundbreaking stance through the film medium of life being a tragedy in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot. That is something that we all as human beings can connect with, I think."
Daniel Anderson, Actor

The Tramp opened at Artscape on 1 October and runs only until 11 October.

Book your spot while you still can on Webtickets.

Listen to Daniel Anderson in conversation with Sara-Jayne Makwala King in the audio below:

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