In 1931, Gandhi visited London to push for the independence of India. He turned down staying in a swanky West End hotel, opting instead to live in an East End community centre.

At the time of his visit, Charlie Chaplin was in the capital too for the premiere of his film City Lights and arranged a meeting with the philosopher at his base at Kingsley Hall, close to Lee Valley Park in Bow.

“Gandhi receives a telegram one day,“ explains Jim Kenworth, the writer of When Chaplin Met Gandhi, a play imagining the extraordinary meeting. “He doesn’t know who he is and his secretary says he’s not important, he’s a buffoon, he’s just a celebrity, he’s a clown.

“Thankfully, for me and the audience, Gandhi’s hostess says you must meet him – his movies are routed in the life of the disadvantaged and the working class.“

Eventually a meeting was arranged and thousands of people lined the streets to catch sight of the stars of the day. What happened within the hall was not recorded, allowing Jim to imagine their conversation.

“The meeting was closed so I can take a few artistic liberties! This is my take on it,“ says Jim. “But if you look at Chaplin’s movies before the meeting, they’re fantastic for sure, but the ones after, they get very political. Look at Modern Life and The Great Dictator – the hypothesis is that this 45-minute meeting was more significant and influential then even Chaplin realised.“

The play stars five professional actors and 15 pupils from the nearby Eastlea Community School.

“They’ve been told to drop their ts! How East End kids spoke 70 years ago is very different to now, the director has reminded them they didn’t say ’bruv’ back then!“

The production takes place in Kingsley Hall, now home to the Gandhi Foundation, allowing the audience to see the imagined talk where it would have taken place.

“I think Chaplin starts off in awe but they do get into quite a heated political discussion,“ says Jim. “They have very different views about progress, but there’s certainly a common ground, they both stick up for the underdog.“

When Chaplin Met Gandhi is at Kingsley Hall, Powis Road from August 8 to 12, times vary. Details: kingsleyhall.co.uk