Meet the Young Talent Behind GAOS Youth’s Chaplin. Plus Win Two Tickets
Last summer they brought Les Misérables to the stage. This August, GAOS Youth is back and this time they're taking on one of the most recognisable figures in film history.
Chaplin: The Musical tells the real-life story of Charlie Chaplin, spanning his extraordinary career from his first performance as a child in 19th-century London to his rise as an iconic actor, filmmaker, writer and director, and his emotional acceptance of an honorary Academy Award in 1972. Along the way, the musical goes behind the famous bowler hat and moustache to explore the man behind the Little Tramp: someone who made the world laugh on screen while struggling to find happiness in his own life. It's a big story to take on.
But behind this summer's production is another rather good story. Young people aren't simply performing in the show. They're directing it, choreographing it and getting involved in everything from set construction and costumes to lighting, sound and promotion. Ahead of opening night, we caught up with three of the young people at the heart of the production: director Arthur Mitchell, choreographer Orla Cartwright and Sam Fiore, who takes on the role of Charlie Chaplin.
Arthur
From Les Mis to the director's chair
Anyone who saw GAOS Youth's Les Misérables last summer may remember Arthur Mitchell on stage as the tavern owner. This summer, he's on the other side of the stage. Arthur is directing Chaplin, but his GAOS story actually began front of house. Since then, he has worked across set construction, sound, lighting and performance, as well as appearing in two Youth Group productions. Directing wasn't necessarily something he'd imagined doing quite so soon.
"I probably wouldn't have put myself forward to direct a show were it not for the encouragement of the people around me at GAOS."
That encouragement gave him the confidence to take on what he describes as a mammoth project. And it has changed the way he sees theatre. Sitting on the opposite side of the audition table for the first time, for example, showed Arthur just how many considerations go into casting a production. It also made him realise that some of the things he'd previously worried about as a performer hadn't even crossed the minds of the panel. Being director, he says, has effectively put him on the opposite side of every single metaphorical table in a production. It's an experience he believes will change the way he approaches every role he takes on in the future.
There's much more happening than what you see on stage
We asked Arthur what young people learn from being involved in a GAOS Youth production beyond performing. His answer makes you realise quite how much of the production the young cast gets to experience. GAOS Youth encourages its members to try different roles, and preparing the shows largely during the school holidays gives them the opportunity to get involved behind the scenes as well as on stage.
Previous productions have seen cast members helping with set construction and painting, costumes, promotion and marketing, technical set-up, directing and choreography.
For Arthur, understanding the work happening around you is valuable even if your ambition is entirely focused on performing.
"The appreciation that you get for the work of those around you, and what you learn about how to collaborate most effectively with them, is some of the most valuable knowledge you can have"
And if a career in theatre isn't the plan? Being part of a project on this scale still teaches you about teamwork, responsibility, collaboration and, as Arthur puts it, essential lessons about yourself, how you work, and who you are.
Orla
From shy cast member to choreographing the show
Orla Cartwright knows something about that progression. She has been involved with GAOS Youth productions since 2023 and describes the person who first joined as someone who was really shy. Orla has gone from having a small role last summer to now teaching an entire cast.
"I've seen myself go from being someone who was really shy to someone who was confident taking on a small part in Les Mis last summer, and then teaching a whole cast this summer as the choreographer."
Orla is the choreographer for Chaplin, alongside her professional ballet training at London's Central School of Ballet. Her dance journey began even earlier. At 13, she moved away from home to train professionally at PNSD Rosella Hightower in the south of France, where she spent five years before moving to London in September 2025. Her current training includes ballet, contemporary and jazz, as well as weekly choreography lessons and opportunities to create work for her classmates. All of that has found its way into Chaplin.
Her jazz training has been particularly useful for the musical theatre style of the production, while ballet provides the foundation for much of her training. Audiences should even look out for a short piece of ballet choreography in the show. Creating the choreography, she says, comes quite naturally.
"I find that imagining and creating choreo for the show comes quite easily to me most of the time, probably because dance has now become a second language for me."
For Orla, one of the best parts has simply been seeing her ideas come to life. She's also learning how to teach, correct and motivate an entire cast while keeping rehearsals fun.
Her unconventional technique for anyone who gets something wrong? A Nerf gun.
“I’ve particularly enjoyed my great idea of using a Nerf gun against anyone who makes a mistake!”
We suspect this particular teaching method may not feature on the Central School of Ballet curriculum.
Sam
Finding the man behind the Little Tramp
While Arthur and Orla have stepped behind the scenes this summer, Sam Fiore has a rather different challenge. For Sam, one of the things he enjoys most about a GAOS Youth production is being surrounded by other young people who share the same passion for theatre, with everyone working towards the same goal of bringing something special to the stage.
And there's plenty being learned along the way. Sam points to teamwork and trust in others as two of the things the experience develops, qualities, he says, that apply not only to theatre and musicals, but to every other sector of life. That shared goal involves Sam taking on one of the most recognisable performers in film history.
He's playing Charlie Chaplin.
Or, more accurately, he's playing two sides of him. There is Charlie Chaplin the man and the Little Tramp, the screen character recognised around the world. To prepare for the role, Sam went back to Chaplin's films to study the Tramp's physicality and movement. For the scenes exploring Chaplin's life away from the camera, he researched the historical context and the real people who surrounded him. And he discovered a much more complicated person than the silent-film comedian most of us immediately picture.
"We all know him as an incredible performer, but I've now learned about Chaplin the filmmaker, composer and political figure."
He also began to see connections between Chaplin and the character he created. Themes of love and belonging run through the Little Tramp's story, Sam explains, but they also appear in the scenes exploring the real Charlie Chaplin. Preparing for the role has therefore meant looking beyond Chaplin's famous physicality to the filmmaker, composer and political figure behind the screen persona.
What if you love theatre but don't have the confidence to join?
There was one question we particularly wanted to put to all three of them. What would you say to another young person who might love theatre but has never had the confidence to get involved? The answer from all three was essentially the same.
Go for it.
Arthur's own GAOS journey didn't begin with a leading role or even on stage. It started front of house. There are so many different ways to get involved, you can always start small and go from there, he says. Meeting people through that first experience led him into more roles, both backstage and onstage, with each one giving him the skills and confidence to try something else.
"You have to do everything for the first time at least once. No one comes in immediately ready or perfect."
Sam remembers what it was like when he first started too. The group, he says, truly feels like one big supportive friend group, bringing together people of the same age who share a passion for theatre. His advice to someone standing on the outside wondering whether they're confident or experienced enough to join is simple: neither is a prerequisite.
"You don't need to be the most confident or experienced person in the room. Getting involved, can bring experiences and friendships you would've never expected."
And perhaps Orla is the clearest example of that. She went from describing herself as really shy when she first became involved with GAOS Youth to performing in Les Misérables and now standing in front of an entire cast teaching choreography.
"It can be scary jumping into something new and unknown,but you'll never know if you never do it."
More than putting on a show
Listening to the three of them, there's a common thread. Yes, GAOS Youth puts on ambitious musicals. But somewhere in the process of learning lines, building sets, rehearsing choreography, figuring out lighting, standing up in front of people and occasionally getting something spectacularly wrong, something else is happening too.
Young people are being trusted with real responsibility. They're discovering what they're good at. They're learning to work with other people. They're making friends. They're trying things before they necessarily feel ready to do them.
One year you can be the shy person joining the group. The next you might be performing in Les Misérables. And a year later, you could be choreographing the whole show or sitting in the director's chair.
That makes Chaplin worth watching for more than one reason.
WIN TWO TICKETS
GAOS Youth is giving one lucky Living in Nyon reader the chance to win two tickets to see Chaplin: The Musical Saturday 29th August Matinee Show 14:00
To enter, answer this question:
When did Charlie Chaplin win an Academy Award?
Competition closes: Monday 24th August Midday
The winner will be selected from the correct entries and contacted directly.
Dates: 28 Aug - 30 Aug 2026
Venue: Théâtre de Marens, Nyon
Tickets and More Info: HERE
Good luck to everyone entering and break a leg to the entire GAOS Youth cast and crew!
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