On 9 March, following the first performance of Brad Birch's En Folkefiende - An Enemy of the People, Rachel Attard (the editor-in-chief of The Malta Independent), Herman Grech (the online editor of The Times of Malta and co-presenter and producer of Times Talk) and Matthew Vella (the executive editor of MaltaToday), will discuss freedom of press in light of what has been happening in Malta over the past few months. The panel will be mediated by director Toni Attard and will draw comparisons between the piece and modern Malta.

"Theatre that doesn't push the boundaries and that doesn't get people thinking and talking about the society they live in is missing half the point," explains the producer of the piece and the director of Unifaun Theatre Productions, Adrian Buckle. "The subject matter of the play has some indisputable parallels with Malta, particularly in the post-Daphne Caruana Galizia assassination and post-truth society we now live in."

The play, which was first written about 100 years ago by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, follows the story of a scientist who uncovers a dark secret about the new spa being proposed in his hometown. As the events unfold, the fragile relationship between the media and politicians is exposed behind closed doors, leading audiences to wonder what is more important: the protection of citizens, the protection of investment or the personal survival of politicians.

Running between 9 and 11 March and again between 16 and 18 March at M Space in Msida, the play will feature an all-star cast made up of Premju għall-Arti nominee for Best Artist of the Year, Mikhail Basmadjian, as well as Anthony Ellul, Simone Spiteri, Antonella Axisa, Victor Debono, Philip Leone Ganado, Jean Marc Cafà and Raquel Theuma.

"Together these three prominent and experienced journalists will be discussing one of the pillars in any democracy: the freedom of the press. Without it, we cannot hold politicians and institutions accountable; without it, we cannot really call ourselves 'free'. So, we invite audience members to come and be part of this conversation, too!" Buckle concludes.

To continue the discussion, Unifaun has also invited the adaptor of An Enemy of the People, playwright Brad Birch, to have a discussion with the audience on the last night of the production on Sunday, 18 March.

Tickets for 'An Enemy of the People' start at just €15 and can be purchased from www.bluebox.com.mt. For more information phone on 7905 6558.