Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin

Young performer

A teenage Chaplin in the play Sherlock Holmes, in which he appeared between 1903 and 1906

Between his time in the poor schools and his mother succumbing to mental illness, Chaplin began to perform on stage. He later recalled making his first amateur appearance at the age of five years, when he took over from Hannah one night in Aldershot.^[d] This was an isolated occurrence, but by the time he was nine Chaplin had, with his mother's encouragement, grown interested in performing. He later wrote: "[she] imbued me with the feeling that I had some sort of talent".^[27] Through his father's connections,^[28] Chaplin became a member of the Eight Lancashire Lads clog-dancing troupe, with whom he toured English music halls throughout 1899 and 1900.^[e] Chaplin worked hard, and the act was popular with audiences, but he was not satisfied with dancing and wished to form a comedy act.^[30]

In the years Chaplin was touring with the Eight Lancashire Lads, his mother ensured that he still attended school but, by age 13, he had abandoned education.^[31][32] He supported himself with a range of jobs, while nursing his ambition to become an actor.^[33] At 14, shortly after his mother's relapse, he registered with a theatrical agency in London's West End. The manager sensed potential in Chaplin, who was promptly given his first role as a newsboy in Harry Arthur Saintsbury's Jim, a Romance of Cockayne.^[34] It opened in July 1903, but the show was unsuccessful and closed after two weeks. Chaplin's comic performance, however, was singled out for praise in many of the reviews.^[35]

Saintsbury secured a role for Chaplin in Charles Frohman's production of Sherlock Holmes, where he played Billy the pageboy in three nationwide tours.^[36] His performance was so well received that he was called to London to play the role alongside William Gillette, the original Holmes.^[f] "It was like tidings from heaven", Chaplin recalled.^[38] At 16 years old, Chaplin starred in the play's West End production at the Duke of York's Theatre from October to December 1905.^[39] He completed one final tour of Sherlock Holmes in early 1906, before leaving the play after more than two-and-a-half years.^[40]