My grandfather’s legendary character, The Tramp, was a beacon of hope and light in an often dark world. Charlie himself lived with an unmatched vivacity that captivated people from all walks of life, and he inspired his children to embody passion and creative freedom. Through my father Michael’s recent investigation, we unearthed incredible and lesser known family Romani roots and discovered how this heritage had imbued the way Charlie had been raised, resulting in a family tree full of artists. Chaplin’s story has been told many times; co-writing with Ashim Bhalla, Isaki Lacuesta and Amaia Ramirez, I felt compelled to approach it from a personal angle through the eyes of my father. By unearthing the history of our bloodline and digging into the archives, we present a narrative about family and legacy, a celebration of the Gypsy/Roma/ Traveller tradition that offers audiences new insight into Chaplin as a man and as an artist. Despite historically living on the margins of society, the Romani are free in ways that most of us are not. Charlie strongly identified with the idea of being a human being without borders: “I consider myself a citizen of the world”. I feel, as my grandfather did, that Romani culture has something to teach us about making art, music, and living life.

Carmen Chaplin