The success of the theatre company Talenti with Id-Divina Commedia of two years ago was of epic proportions.

Encouraged by that success the company is this time indulging in a new project, again in the form of a dramatised monologue, equally telling and ambitious, about the turbulent and sometimes shocking life of Michelangelo Merisi, more commonly known as Caravaggio.

The original scripting was again entrusted to Alfred Palma, a mainstay in the art of epic translations. Direction goes again to Zep Camilleri, who was also responsible for other notable powerful works by the same production house. Naturally one must surmise at who will do this monologue. Again it’s that old warhorse Mario Micallef.

Apart from vast experiences in the art of acting and an array of dramatic talents, Micallef has by now become a household name in this form of theatre. It is a theatre, unique and fascinating, performed by a solo actor. This has become Micallef’s domain. He never disappoints, always charms his large audiences and always provides them with the unexpected. Reading Caravaggio is by no means an easy feat, let alone portraying his tempestuous and unsettled life on stage – singlehandedly.

How one’s personality allows two strongly opposing attributes to lie side by side is an astonishingly phenomenal fact. That is, how is it possible that a person, notable for his artistic geniality and prowess, be at the same breath of sentence also a criminal and a murderer who lives in a perpetual state of inebriation? This fact, not only defies belief, but also logic and reality. It readily becomes unreal!

The character Of Michelangelo Merisi, known as Caravaggio (taken from the name of the city he was born in near Milan), not only makes this mixture an interesting proposition but also an intriguing debate. He made a name for himself as a painter of the highest order of the Italian Baroque. He unashamedly produced numerous religious masterpieces portraying biblical figures as common people. Most of them were controversial works of art that ruffled a few mitres within the church hierarchy but which were purchased willingly by rich nobles for their spectacular technique, for their originality and most probably for their homoerotic content.

There you go, another side to him – homoeroticism! What next? Caravaggio clashed with justice on several occasions. He even thumped another painter, seriously injured a soldier, pelted the Roman guards with stones, was caught in possession of firearms, quarrelled over one of his lovers and finally, in 1606, committed a murder. One heck of a curriculum vitae that makes the best of criminals cry of shame.

His early life had already taken a wrong twist. Barely six years of age and he started to be disturbed. At the age of 10 he became an orphan. He rebelled at such a tender age and no one could find a solution to his disturbances. He grew to resist tradition and rebuke convention.

He argued continually with church authorities who to their utter dismay had their artistic suggestions rebuffed. Incredibly enough this made him even more famous and the demand for his works spiralled.

As interested parties, we ask: What was the motive for his trip to Malta? And then we ask again Why secretly escape to Sicily?

Well, you will be able to get your answers, and more, if you decide to grace with your presence the performance which will take place on 1 , 2 and then on 8 and 9 December in the intimacy of the circular theatre of St James Cavalier in Valletta. A Word of caution - Due to the nature of the drama as it unfolds and the language used, it is recommended FOR only patrons over the age of 16.