Malcolm Galea is to Maltese theatre what Ira Losco is to Maltese music... Whatever that may be, I'll leave it to you to decipher.
No, but, seriously: He's been working in the industry since 2003 and although he's predominantly a writer, he admits that he enjoys working in all areas, which is great seeing as he does much more than writing for theatre!
Over the past year alone, in fact, he's directed Oliver Goldsmith's She stoops to conquer for the MADC, written and played dame in the pantomime Puss in Boots for Masquerade and written and directed Marti Martek, Martek Marti for Staġun Teatru Malti - all of which were on at Teatru Manoel. Malcolm, along with his wife Angele, also runs More or Less Theatre, a company that specialises in exciting new plays.
His upcoming role as adult panto anti-dame, however, will see him getting naughtier than ever... Yes, even naughtier than he got playing the anti-dame in last year's adult panto, Beauty and the Beast.
In the upcoming Adult Panto, you'll be playing the role of the Dame. Are there any differences between the traditional panto dame and the adult panto dame?
In adult panto you have more of an anti-dame where the character is anything but traditional. I like to think of the adult-panto dame as being what a normal panto dame would be like behind closed doors and without any children in the audience. Technically they're also quite different to play. With the traditional panto dame you're backed up by extravagant costumes and a sizeable chorus. In the adult panto, you're all on your own - although you have fewer restrictions on what you can and cannot say. Both characters are pretty demanding with regards to stage presence and improvisation.
Acting alongside Steve Hili with a script written by Steve Hili... Go!
Apart from his unfortunate affinity for the mankini, it's great fun working with Steve. As a fellow full-timer in the field, his working method is very refreshing. He takes it surprisingly seriously but without the extra nonsense. Once, at a rehearsal, someone suggested we start off with a breathing exercise and we all laughed for 10 solid minutes.
What makes this panto an adult-oriented one, exactly?
Uh... pretty much everything, actually. The content, the characters, the songs, the condoms, the giant penises, the double-sided dildos... and that's just from the first scene! Whereas a good panto usually has its fair share of double entedres, where a seemingly innocent comment would have a cheeky double meaning, Steve Hili is very much the master of the single entendre: there's no reading between the lines since they all get crossed pretty much immediately.
The adult panto kicks off less than a week after the General Election. How can this production help cool down election fever?
I think that Maltese people in general secretly love general elections - they're more exciting that the World Cup, Eurovision and the village feast put together. The adult panto will prolong the fun a little after it's over with its unique and, shall we say, direct brand of commentary.
What have audiences commented about the most so far?
One guy compared the show to a one-night stand with an ex: You swear to yourself that you'd never do it again after the last time, you felt unclean and disgusted with yourself but on the whole, you're glad you came.
What else are you up to?
Currently I'm preparing my show The Complete History of Europe (More or Less) for a full run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where I'll be performing at the C +1 in Chambers Street all throughout August along with fellow adult panto-cast member, Joseph Zammit. We'll also be doing a bunch of stand-up comedy sets with Steve Hili who'll be there with his show also.
Concurrently, I'm also working on Get Your Act Together, a project which is giving two local playwrights the chance to develop a script based on the themes of island life with international experts and mentors.
That's amazing... And are there any other projects in the pipeline?
Since you asked, in October I'll be acting in David K. Barnes' comedy Birthday Suit at the Blue Box Theatre and, this Christmas, I shall be writing and playing dame in the Masquerade pantomime Alice in Wonderland at Teatru Manoel.
This year's adult panto in summer, Little Red Riding Hood is being produced by Ants in Pants and held at Spazju Kreattiv, St James Cavalier, every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until 25 June - with a special late-night performance (which includes a free drink) on the 17th!
For tickets visit www.kreattivita.org or phone on 2122 3200