Is it scary? You bet it is. So how come they're selling it as a comedy? Because it is pretty funny, that's why. The premise is as follows.  A young Scottish girl is "possessed" by the devil. That's the scary part. Her father, and an eminent Scottish psychologist, bring her to Malta because, during her "convulsions" the girl spews out obscenities "IN MALTESE", and that's where the fireworks start. It turns out that there is an ulterior motive to all the demonic shenanigan... she was to be brought to Malta to meet with another possessed victim in order to give birth to... the Antichrist. And that's only the beginning. The Devil himself is brought forth from the depths of hell to officiate during the "conception" of the prophesised antihero, which is where the comedy is derived from.John Suda, in the part of IX-XITAN, takes centre stage in what is, probably, one of the highlights of this year's theatrical season.  The devil takes over, stops the play and addresses the Maltese audience, chiding, ridiculing, and warning them of dire consequences unless "they return to the warm embrace of the church" which, according to him, they have abandoned.  The logic here is that unless people return to the faith, there won't be anyone left he can turn into sinners. Rampant sarcasm, scathing satire and a spat of horrendously vulgar language dot the proceedings, which could may be offensive to some members of the theatre going public. "It's nothing you don't hear on a normal day in our streets", says author/director Mario Philip Azzopardi. "There is a lot more in the play than the few vulgar lines. The story is a solid plot, about love, duty, faith and ultimately, sacrifice. There's lots of humour involved, which is incidental, because ultimately the play turns on itself to lead the audience into the realm of tragedy. What I like doing is experiment with clashing both genres, comedy and tragedy, together, forcing to cohabit the stage at the same time."IX XITAN KUNJOMU MALTI, with Roderick Vassallo as the doubting exorcist, MarvicCordina, the victimised Mother Superior, Mikhail Basmadjian, the atheist psychologist, are all part of a powerful cast, including Paul Portelli, Polly March and young Jamie Cardona. The crucial part of Clara, the Scottish girl is in the hands of newcomer Shelby Aquilina. Look out for this name. Here's the birth of a new Maltese star whom we will be seeing for a long time to come.XITAN opens at the Manoel on the 31st of January and will run a further five nights on the 1st, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th of February. Booking is open at the Manoel Theatre or online at www.teatrumanoel.com.mt or by calling 21246389.