"What a workout" said Sean Buhagiar the director of Teatru Malta's upcoming production Raymond 'Fight' Beck, fresh out of an early risers boxing session with his star cast and boxing trainer Super Steve Martin at Fight Factory gym. The show, which is set to premiere on Saturday 10th March at St James Cavalier has Buhagiar stepping out of his comfort zone as a director and into an arena that is even less merciless than the stage.
Certainly one of the busiest men in local theatre at the moment, Buhagiar as of 2017, has also taken on the role of Artistic Director of Teatru Malta, Malta's newly founded National Theatre. Considering their jam packed premiere programme boasts about 18 different projects for this year alone it's baffling how he finds the time to juggle directing outside of his office walls. "When an author's too passionate to pass up, I just can't say no". The author he's referring to is Andre Mangion, Teatru Malta's emerging writer for 2018 who penned Raymond 'Fight' Beck. The relatable story of two rival boxers from Zejtun will hit home for anyone, "what struck me is that it's a show about life, not just boxing; love, family, tragedy and most of all self discovery".
It's not all about scripts and work management for this director. It's clear that the methodology behind devising the piece, involved a lot of physical training, ensuring that his actors would fit into the mental and physical persona of their characters like a glove. "I wanted the piece to feel authentic to audiences" in order to do that Buhagiar had lead actors Tucci and Montanaro training for their roles months ahead of opening night with star local boxer Super Steve Martin "then I thought why not join in too, might as well pick up a couple of tricks while on the job" laughs Buhagiar, water bottle in hand and hand towel over neck. Language coaches have also been working closely with the cast to perfect their accents and dialects. " If you're directing a show about locals from Zejtun then I wasn't going to have the story's archetype characters sounding like they were from anywhere else" says Buhagiar.
"I'm lucky to be working with one of the strongest casts locally; it's a privilege to direct local theatre heavyweights like Żep Camilleri, Hector Bruno, Philip Mizzi and Lilian Pace Vassallo; to work with actors I've looked up to for as long as I can remember, just makes the process that much more fulfilling". Apart from marathon running John Montanaro who plays the lead role of Raymond Beck, the man on a mission to avenge himself, and play antagonist Dyson Cumbo played by blue eyed Tucci, the cast features household names Triccas, Peter Galea, Ray Abdilla, Toni Busuttil, Kim Dalli and Frank Zammit completing an illustrious ensemble bound to knock anyone out. Buhagiar is also very happy to be working with highly acclaimed local fashion designer Marco Parascandalo on this. "It's my first time having worked with some of these beautiful creatives and hopefully not the last!" referring to a long list of very exciting creatives like set design veteran Adrian Mamo, the unruly Marmalja on sound and music, artist Jimmy Grima who will be working his magic on lights, and Maltese-Australian theatre professional Kenneth Spiteri on movement.
"Theatre to me is as much about the team as it is about the show, collaboration is key; I wouldn't have it any other way. With this team, it is about ideas which did not exist before these great people entered the room".
Raymond "Fight" Beck is supported by Arts Council Malta/Malta Arts Fund: Project Support Grant, Teatru Malta, Spazju Kreattiv and Eurosport. Shows run between Saturday 10th and Sunday 18th March at St James Cavalier Valletta. Tickets and information can be found on www.teatrumalta.org.mt, 21223200 or from the booking office of Spazju Kreattiv, St James Cavalier, Valletta.