Well-established actor ANTHONY ELLUL is a 50 year old native of St Julian’s who now resides in Floriana. He works as an Urban and Environmental Planner.
What have been your most memorable parts so far?
I’ve been acting for over 30 years. I feel the most important roles I’ve played on stage have been that of Randall McMurphy in One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Biff in Death of a Salesman, whilst on television the role of Luigi in the TV series Giselle, for which I won the Best Actor in a Leading Role Award in the Malta TV awards 2008 was a highlight.
Why did you take up acting?
When I was young I used to watch cowboy movies and I wanted to be like them. When I realised they were acting I discovered the thrill of being somebody else and expressing various emotions so after finishing my A-levels I went to the national drama school, then known as MTADA and haven’t stop since.
How often do you get involved in theatre considering you have a very demanding full time-career?
In the past I was very much involved, sometimes having acted in five plays during a season and even producing plays for the theatrical company Teatru Menz which I set up in 1998... but recently I have slowed down a bit.
What's this play all about?
It’s about how a couple’s relationship changes as they start to find money appearing from nowhere in their apartment. During the course of the play unexpected traits which they were not aware of before the money started appearing start to emerge within them. I play Bruno, the husband, who is an anaesthetist, with a normal life, working a lot and not having been very lucky. Suddenly, all this money is appearing in his flat and he can buy those things which previously were denied to him. This makes him change a lot...
Why should people come and watch this play?
Well it’s a good comedy and keeps the audience wondering where the mysterious money is coming from. I think it will also get them thinking about what they would do if faced with a similar situation...
ALBA FLORIAN VITON is 22 years old, a native of Madrid, Spain but currently living in Tarxien. She works as an Art and Drama Animator at St James Centre for Creativity.
Give us a bit of background to your life and career.
The first time I went on stage was when I was four years old in a production called Pinocchio. People might remember me as Willow in the children’s TV series, Iz-Zona, Rosaline in Steve Hili's Romeo and Juliet and a Zombie, Katie in Imxi Warajja by Bryan Muscat and Elaine in the TV series It-Tfal. I also directed the play Boulevard by Francis Ebejer during Notte Bianca 2014 for Willow Theatre.
Why did you take up acting?
I have had an attraction to the stage ever since I was little. I grew up in a family where theatre has always been a priority... my dad, Stephen Florian is also involved in theatre and he is my number one idol in this regard.
Can you share any amusing situations from your theatrical life so far?
During one of the Romeo and Juliet and a Zombie performances last year, I wore a nightgown backwards by mistake and ended up going on stage with my bra on show for everyone to see. I didn't notice until I was on stage. Thank goodness this kind of behaviour actually fitted the character I was portraying.
What’s your theatrical ambition?
I want to go abroad, learn everything I can possibly learn about theatre, and come back in order to help this island's theatre scene flourish. I deeply believe in Malta's artistic potential. I would also love to work under the direction of Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar.
Tell us about this play.
It is outrageously funny and completely unpredictable. It also plays with a number of languages and accents which gives it wonderful dynamics. With regards to the plot, it shows how one can never really foresee his or her reaction when faced with a particular situation. As for my part in it... I prefer to leave my character Teresa as a surprise for the audience.
BOX 1
Xita ta’ Flus! by Sébastien Thiery is set in a modern suburb. One evening a middle-class couple discover some ‘extra’ money in their living room. They can’t make out how the money ended up there, but it is just the tip of the iceberg. Daily, banknotes appear around the apartment more and more frequently as if it was raining cash. Where is this money coming from? What have they done to deserve it? This sudden wealth, is it an opportunity or a curse? Xita ta’ Flus! is a modern-day absurd tragic-comedy showing how wealth may dilute society’s vision of social cohesion.
This 90-minute one-act comedy will be staged at St James Cavalier on two weekends: on the 15, 16 and 21, 22 and 23 February at 8pm. Stage adaptation and direction are in the hands of Lino Farrugia, while Nanette Brimmer, Tony Ellul, Alba Florian Viton and Nathan Brimmer star. The translation from the French original is by Professor Anthony Aquilina. His translation will be on sale in book form at the theatre during the shows.
The playwright
Sébastien Thiery is a French actor and playwright born in
Paris in 1970. He studied under Dominique Valadié, Catherine Hiegel and Adrien Philippe. From 2004 to 2006 he wrote and performed with Françoise Christophe and Marie Parouty Chez Maman the peak-time Canal+ TV series. He created his first piece in 2005, Sans ascenseur and Dieu habite Dusseldorf in 2006. Cochons d'Inde then followed with Patrick Chesnais in 2009 which received two Molières, Qui est Monsieur Schmitt? at the theatre de la Madeleine with Richard Berry in 2010 and Le Début de la fin at the Théâtre des Variétés in 2011. Last year Pierre Arditi and Evelyne Buyle interpreted Comme s'il en pleuvait, directed by Bernard Murat at the théâtre Édouard VII in Paris.
French critics had words of praise and appreciation for Thiery’s latest take on society. Télérama believed the author plays his absurd observations with the mystery and cruelty of Pinter and Ionesco; they dubbed him the most talented comedian of his generation. France Télévisions adds that Thiery moves like a fish in universal waters, ready to gobble the most politically incorrect of characters. Pariscope judged the theatre piece as hilarious.
Booking for Xita ta’ Flus! is open at St James Cavalier (www.sjcav.org).