Professor Sante Guido, who is leading the restoration team entrusted with the work, gave a detailed visual presentation last week to explain the work carried out. In the most recent process, a new layer of colour, which could shed light on the original colour of the interior décor of the wooden boxes was revealed.

The work consisted mainly in the consolidation of the colour on all parts of the façade of the boxes. These were covered with many stains as a result of the lack of maintenance over many years. The inner part of the theatre has gone through a number of colour schemes in the past and it was difficult, with the lack of historical documentation, to arrive at the ‘correct’ or original colour. It seems that the present colour scheme dates back to the late 1950s or early 1960s. This meant the change of some of the colours, the introduction of considerable areas of ‘green’ and the poor substitution of ‘porporina’ for the gilded areas.

The decision that the restorers had to take was to what level the cleaning should go. They correctly concluded that, with the lack of documentary evidence, they should maintain the present colour scheme. This has meant not only the cleaning of all the surface areas but also the restoration of stucco parts and the re-facing of all the coloured parts. This needed considerable man-hours to smooth the new colouring into the old colouring.

The restorers also decided not to do away completely with the ‘porporina’ and only to re-gild where it was completely lacking. They also ‘dirtied’ the new gold gilding so as not to have very bright areas and darker areas.

Dr Ray Bondin, chairman of the Valletta Rehabilitation Project and member of the Restoration Committee, who followed the progress of the restoration works, announced that the VRP will be commissioning a scientific analysis of the light blue colouring in the stage area, believed to be the original colour scheme of the theatre.

The restoration project of the Manoel Theatre is funded by a private-public initiative with Malta International Airport as the main sponsors, Computime, official sponsors of Din l-Art Helwa as well as the Valletta Rehabilitation Project and the Manoel Theatre.