Three Maltese theatre veterans discuss ideas, experiences and memories as an audience watches them, not only physically sharing the same stage, but also the same dreams and memories. This is the backdrop for the next episode in the monthly series Mid-Dinja tat-Teatru, featuring interviews with some of the protagonists of the Maltese stage.
In the second episode in this series, Tony Cassar Darien and Karmenu Aquilina will be interviewed by Albert Marshall on the Manoel Theatre stage on Monday 4 March at 8pm. The actors will be interviewed about their career and experience of working on stage or behind the scenes. Through these conversations audiences can gain a historical perspective of Maltese theatre from different aspects of stage production. In an interesting twist, audiences are seated on the Manoel Theatre stage, sharing the thrill which most theatre people experience when looking at the rows of seats.
Born in 1946, Karmenu Aquilina is a director whose work can be broadly divided into three phases: the Holy Week pageants in Gharghur, the pedagogical work with the Manoel Theatre Academy of Dramatic Art (MTADA) - where he was one of the first teachers - and the productions put up by the company Koperatturi, together with Alfred Mallia, John Suda, Michael Tabone and Manuel Cauchi.
Best known for his work in theatre management and artistic direction, Tony Cassar Darien became principal of the Manoel Theatre Academy of Dramatic Arts (MTADA) in 1981, where he emphasised regular contact between students and the public. Between 1993 and 2007 Cassar Darien was the first artistic director at Teatru Manoel, where he was involved in a number of new initiatives such as Logga Palk and Poezija Plus. He was also involved in events which aimed to attract internationally acclaimed artists to the Manoel Theatre, such as the Manoel Baroque Festival and the BOV Opera Festival.
Future planned interviews in the Mid-Dinja tat-Teatru series include John Suda and Carmen Azzopardi who will be interviewed by Trevor Zahra on 29 April; Paul Xuereb and Victor Fenech, who will be interviewed by Immanuel Mifsud on 27 May while on 3 June Donald Friggieri and May Vassallo will be interviewed by Malcolm Galea. Last month’s interview – the first in the series - was carried out by writer Clare Azzopardi, who interviewed Godwin Scerri and Josephine Mahoney.
The Mid-Dinja tat-Teatru series is a collaboration between Teatru Manoel and the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, as part of the Francis Ebejer Competition 2013 celebrating the 20th anniversary of the playwright’s death.
Free entrance but seat numbers are limited so booking is essential. To book: www.teatrumanoel.com.mt E: [email protected] T: 2124 6389