In February and March Manoel Theatre will be presenting two brand new original works in Maltese.
L-Indemonjati u Maltin Ohra by Albert Marshall and In-Nisa Maltin Jafu Kif by Clare Azzopardi have been commissioned by the Fundazzjoni Avventura with a grant from the Malta Arts Council and produced in collaboration with Mario Philip Azzopardi.
Fundazzjoni Avventura is dedicated to the development and work shopping of new Maltese theatrical works by local playwrights who undergo a yearlong gruelling development process which helps them produce several drafts of their work, aided by professional analysis and live readings of their scripts before submitting their final draft. This ensures that the work is fine-tuned and honed before being presented to the audience. Professional actors, directors and critics were brought into this process offering the author the possibility to experiment with different aspects of his/her work. This tough process of experimentation, endless rewriting and testing produced two of the finest scripts ever written in the history of original Maltese theatrical works under the banner L’Istagun tat-Teatru Malti. Fundazzjoni Avventura is already preparing for the second L’Istagun tat-Teatru Malti with three new productions planned for 2014. All works are in Maltese, are about the Maltese and aimed at dismantling our sanctimonious prejudices and pull our obstinate leg. In plain English, they aim to make us laugh at ourselves, something which we are not yet very good at.
L-Indemonjati u Maltin Ohra, (22, 23 and 24 February) under the direction of its author, Albert Marshall turns its focus on the often hilarious, mostly exasperating, seldom explosively irritating Franco Debono debacle. No it is not about Franco Debono. It is more about how we reacted to Franco Debono’s debacle, which, love him or hate him, is now an indelible part of our history. Bertu Marshall scathing “dramm dokubuffu” as he calls it, is a helter-skelter ride through the hilarious, and not so funny moments that made 2012 what it was, all the time insisting that you leave your partisan (let’s admit it) political obsession at the door and collectively laugh it out with Marshall’s typical irreverence, tongue in cheek naughtiness and brilliant theatrical flare which has placed him among the top local directors. His cast include Mario Micallef, Sean Buhagiar and his wife Jane Marshall. This promises to be the quintessential “Now for something different” experience reminiscent of the hilarious Monty Python tradition.
Clare Azzopardi’s In-Nisa Maltin Jafu Kif (22, 23 and 24 March) is as provocative as the title implies... depending how “adventurous” you want to be. What happens when six Maltese women lie to their husbands and secretly meet in an abandoned chapel in the middle of nowhere to conduct a ritual that involves costumes used in Good Friday’s pageants and a couple of male strippers. Let your imagination soar and you’ll never guess the outcome.
Marcelle Teuma directs this brilliant new play by one of Malta’s most prolific writers whose assignment was to write a play about the meaning of being a Maltese woman in 2013. What was obvious when she submitted her first draft was that here was the work of genius, maturity and brilliant craft. Eight months and four drafts later the play stands as one of the most original theatrical works in the history of Maltese theatre. Clare’s work is provocative, hilarious and does not shy from dipping into naughty sacrilege. It’s not for the squeamish. For bookings phone the Manoel Theatre Booking Office on 2124 6389; email: [email protected]; www.teaturmanoel.com.mt