The MADC will be staging the highly-acclaimed works of American playwright Neil Simon next month.

California Suite is a collection of four short plays set in a luxury suite at the Beverly Hills Hotel, following the stories of custody battles, cheating husbands, the secret life of an Oscar-nominated actress and two quarrelling couples following an unfortunate holiday.

Although the play deals with themes such as marriage, regret, infidelity and the pitfalls of fame, Neil Simon ensures that his tales of people in desperate situations are immensely funny as well as poignant.

Following the successful production of Simon's famous play The Odd Couple in 2016, co-directors Justin Kyle Camilleri and Joe Depasquale felt it was time to introduce another of the playwright's comedies to Maltese audiences.

"The Maltese theatre scene is currently brimming with an exciting variety of productions, the majority of which tend to be dramas," comments Camilleri. "While there is a real need for good dramatic theatre on this island, there also needs to be a healthy dose of comedy to balance it out."

Since two of the four stories are more dramatic comedies while these others are more farcical, it was felt that the show would benefit from having two directors to play to their respective strengths.

California Suite features prominent local actors Stefan Cachia Zammit, Maria Pia Meli, Taryn Mamo Cefai, Edward Caruana Galizia, Jovan Pisani and Christine Borg, and will play at the MADC Playhouse in Santa Venera from 9 to 11 and 16 to 18 March.

Tickets are available now from www.madc.com.mt