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16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 1 SEPTEMBER 2019 INTERVIEW Revisiting Charles Clews's 70-year career takes us back to an almost forgotten era of comedy: the age of Vaudeville, when entertainers were expected to be steeped in a multi-disciplinary tradition. Clews himself acted, danced and sang on stage… but he also wrote his own sketches, and composed (or transposed) much of the music himself. Comparing to the equivalent in contemporary entertainment: do you get the impression that part of this era died with him? Yes, and no. First of all, I don't think anything like that ever re- ally 'dies'. I think it evolves. To put it into a broader, interna- tional context: the Vaudeville, music halls and Variety Shows of the pre-war era, were all transformed into early televi- sion. If you look at TV's early output, much of it was, in fact, televised variety shows. But I'm not one for nostalgia, myself. I don't believe the past was 'bet- ter'; I think we should know about the past, to make a bet- ter present for the future. In the case of Charles Clews, for instance, the centenary is not just a 'trip down memory lane'; it's not just about how good the 'good old days' were. It's about what was good about that time; and how we should remember it, so that we can have something better now. That's my general philosophy, at any rate. But I think you're right in saying, 'this is gone'. It is gone, to some degree. It's a different social reality we're liv- ing in today. Today, your 'variety' is found on social media sites like Face- book. What is a 'Facebook wall', anyway? A space for someone to upload a song… or share an article in a magazine… or to tell a joke… or to post a fa- mous quote… People are giving applause, in the form of 'likes'; peopl e are booing and jeering; and some people are selling things in between. That's your 'variety show', right there. Then you have 'mutations'; some of the elements that made up that kind of world are still alive to- day, but take different forms. The idea of someone writing Maltese lyrics to popular songs, for instance, has gone on un- interrupted; and we now have people like Joe Demicoli, who is feeding off a long tradition. Most of Charles Clews's musical numbers were, in fact, Maltese parodies of the popular songs of his age; and they reflected the social realities of his time. To- day, Joe Demicoli writes songs about, for example, the 'monu- ment ta' Hal-Luqa'; or about the 'red and blue' situation in Malta; or to lampoon Marlene Farru- gia. If you go back, you'll find that Charles Clews was writing songs related to emigration… large families… post-war life… the realities which surrounded him… This tradition has survived in other ways, too: our version of the Christmas Panto is far more satirical (and political) than 'pantomimes' usually are elsewhere. There is also a healthy tradition of newspaper cartoons, and, increasingly, online memes. How satirical – in the broader sense – was Charles Clews himself? Do you see him as a social commentator, as much as a comic? I'd say, in general, that Mal- tese humour has a strong sense of 'making fun'. Not necessarily 'making fun of…' in the sense that, you can laugh with some- one; you can laugh at someone; and you can make someone laugh. To go back to Charles Clews… he made people laugh. He didn't laugh with people, and he didn't laugh at people, either. But the truly significant thing about Charles Clews – the reason why he is not only remembered now, on his 100th birthday, but I believe he will also be re- membered in years to come – is that… he wrote. Charles is most significant as a writer; and it is as a writer that he is most un- derrated and undervalued. Whenever we think of theatre or performance writing, we tend think of either Francis Ebejer, or one of the other canonical Maltese playwrights. Charles Clews, however, wrote many, many short comedy sketches… he also wrote humorous nov- els; he published seven books of jokes and witticisms – some of which were perhaps translated or adapted from other cultures – but some were completely original. He tried his hand at serious stage writing, too, didn't he? Yes, he wrote one serious play, 'Dar Fuq Ir-Ramel'… and it wasn't his strong point. But even the fact that he tried to write in that style, also shows you how committed he was… how dedicated he was to his craft. According to Prof. Mario Galea, 'Dar Fuq ir-Ramel' – while far from Clews's best work – also showcased another side to the man. He was deeply motivated by social concerns… Charles Clews was a social- ist… in the proper sense of the term. He believed in social jus- tice; he was all about workers' rights. But he didn't wear his politics on his sleeve… even if 'politics' – in the broader sense – was always present, up to a point. The Stage Commandos, which he founded during the war, was entirely made up of dockyard workers: Tony Bel- lizzi: Charlie Roe; Nestor Laivi- era – who eventually became a Labour MP, and Speaker of the House – Johnny Catania; Fred- dy Underwood… and Charles Clews. In essence, these were all very politically committed people; not because they all ran for politics, but because they all wanted to right social injustices. They were not interested in having rival tiffs with peo- ple who had different political views… unless they were op- pressing them, or the people around them. Which wasn't really the case, at the time. All in all, I would say that Charles Clews was a socialist, but not a 'Laburist'. And I feel it's an important distinction; he never militated in any political party; but he did militate within the General Workers' Union, in favour of workers' rights. Bear in mind that the GWU was formed roughly at the same time as the Stage Commandos, in 1942… and the Commandos' first per- formance outside the Dockyard was a GWU Youth activity at the St Joseph Band Club in Hamrun. So it was a very differ- ent social and political reality, from the one we've grown used to in the last 30-40 years. But Charles Clews had a work ethic that was steeped in the working class: he came from the working class; he was for the working class; he wrote for the working class… [laughing]… he even populated the work- ing class; having had (and joked about having) quite a large fam- ily... Yet his comic output is for the most part extremely light- hearted and 'gentle' – for want of a better word – compared to that of other politically- motivated comedians. Charles Chaplin, for instance… … whom Clews idolised… … unsurprisingly, as they seem to have a lot in common. Chaplin, too, was a 'socialist by nature'; and it comes across very emphatically in all his greatest films: 'The Kid', 'Modern Times', 'The On the centenary of comedian Charles Clews's birth, archivist and performing arts researcher TONI SANT – who edited the forthcoming centenary biographical publication – outlines why the humble 'Stage Commando' from Senglea remains such a seminal, albeit underrated, Maltese national treasure One hundred years Raphael Vassallo Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMES BIANCHI