The Covid-19 pandemic has made an impact on many sectors this year, including the entertainment industry in Malta. Performers and workers in this industry are facing many struggles after the closure of theatres, concert halls and other event venues as a measure to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. Many directors, musicians, singers, DJs and other performers have tried to find ways to keep their art alive, but it has been a challenging situation.

Emma Muscat

Amici celebrity and singer Emma Muscat said the situation affected her greatly as, for an artist, performing isn’t a simple act that is done only for pleasure, but it is considered a vital need.

“Depriving an artist from performing on stage is very similar to depriving a human being from its vital needs. It’s mandatory for an artist to perform, or otherwise you don’t feel like your usual self,” she added.

Back in February 2020, Muscat was still living in Milan, working on new music with different song writers and producers everyday. When Covid-19 hit, she had to move back to Malta and her life completely changed as Muscat had to go from creating and living music everyday, to try to find safe alternatives which would allow her to continue working on her music.

Muscat explained that, “initially, it was very difficult to understand how to even work at a distance because the process of creation is something that requires physical contact in order to be inspired. However, when we realised that this wasn’t going to last just a couple of months, we had no choice but to learn how to write music over video call and try to adapt as best as we could.”

Due to the pandemic, over a 100 concerts in which Muscat had to perform were cancelled. She expressed that this was a very heartbreaking time for her as performing on stage is something she very much looks forward to and that possibility was taken away. “It’s a place where I can just express and feel myself when I’m on stage,” she said.

Muscat added that although the majority of concerts were cancelled, she was lucky enough and grateful to have the opportunity to perform in two concerts back in July.

Asked if she anticipates the entertainment industry will recover post-Covid, she remarked that “the industry thrives in Malta so we will not face many problems as entertainment, theatre, concerts, amongst other events have been missing in people’s lives.”

Muscat hopes that, sometime in the year 2021, we can all go back to how we used to be and have the possibility to perform on stage infront of a large audience. 

Alan Montanaro

Well-known panto actor and writer Alan Montanaro expressed that Covid-19 has been quite a shock as no one expected it, and it has now been with us for a year.

Every Christmas in Malta is usually celebrated with the famous Christmas panto, however, this year, the event became another casualty of Covid-19. Through many years, the annual panto has become a tradition and an unmissable date in many people’s calendars. 

Montanaro said the loss of panto is devastating and hard hit for a number of reasons.

“The panto is very often the first venture into theatre for many young children and this year they are being deprived of this which is a real shame, as theatre is a wonderful way to express themselves,” he said.

The cancellation of panto will also impact the financial side as it is the money earner that allows other producers to put up other shows which usually run at a loss.

Montanaro highlighted that the cultural and creative arts are perceived as being extra and as something which is not needed, therefore it is usually placed at the bottom of the food chain.

Any ideas or plans that Montanaro come up with this year would have to be funded, as he explained that producers cannot afford to fund a project at the moment without any funding as there isn’t the audience anymore.

He added that some don’t seem to realise just how much work goes into any play or project. Even in such a small show there is so much time and money invested to put up something of a high standard that one wouldn’t take the risk to invest, not unless funding is provided from the government or from benefactors who believe in culture.

“It breaks your heart to see the empty spaces between the audience present. You can’t do panto with that kind of audience because you need the reaction.”

He added that, “as an actor, and as a person who usually plays the dame in the panto, you need to feed off from the public and if it’s not there, it’s going to turn out to be a very flat performance.”

“I am very dissapointed that the show can’t go on this year, but I’m confident that it will eventually, and hope that people will know what they’ve missed and come rushing back to the theatre when it’s time.”

With regard to Montanaro’s view on how the entertainment industry will recover post-Covid, he remarked that in the last 15 to 20 years, Malta has seen the standard of Maltese productions shoot up and a good number of people were choosing theatre, dance, song, DJing or any other creative art as a profession prior to Covid-19.

“This means that people were doing it as a career choice, but with the virus they’ve had to make other choices to make good. Although I believe that the creative arts has a strong pull which will bring them back, I still hope that we won’t lose these people for good,” he said. 

The New Victorians

Singing sisters Bettina Cassar and Philippa Naudi of The New Victorians were also among those who were greatly affected by the pandemic, having many of their gigs, events, weddings and other plans cancelled.

During this period, which became a time for getting creative, writing and producing, “we ended up releasing an unplanned album for 2021 as we saw it as a good opportunity for us to work on our own music.”

Naudi said that at times the experience was really fun, but at other times it got very frustrating as all everyone wanted to do was meet physically and jam, getting it done in half the time.

Working virtually had it’s pros and cons, as it was also a toll on our mental health but for the most part it’s been productive, Naudi said.

She described the first weekend it all exploded as “the weekend from hell” as it was a total chaos and hassle, however, at the end of the day “it is what it is and everyone had to face it some way or another.”

As an alternative to their usual shows, The New Victorians hosted the Christmas Chapel Hop; a series of hour-long intimate concerts, held in different chapels around Malta. This allowed them to gather a few people in safe places which were all set up with Covid-19 safety measures in order to spread some Christmas hope and cheer, despite the current situation.

The response from the public, following the announcement of the Christmas Chapel Hop was surprising, “as at first we were thinking that the majority won’t feel comfortable attending an event but then we realised that there has been more of a demand than we thought,” they said.

Asked what they think on post-Covid recovery for the entertainment industry, they said that “this goes beyond us, however, for us it’s a matter of knowing what we want to do and keep doing it until we can.”

“The arts and people within the arts sector are very durable, strong and perseverant and when you believe in what you do and the reason why you do it, then you’re going to keep trying until it’s absolutely impossible,” Cassar said.

Naudi added that one silver lining of this whole pandemic is that this kind of down time has enabled artists to come together and find a way to support one another.

Both Cassar and Naudi expressed their hope that associations who form part of the entertainment industry such as the MEIA, will continue on being a voice for this sector and focus on how we can recover and get out of this pandemic.

“Although it will be a struggle, the public miss going out and crave entertainment, therefore we think that there will be a thirst for it, and people will flock back which will hopefully lead to an amazing recovery.” 

Daniel Briffa

DJ and producer Daniel Briffa said that since mass events had to be cancelled with good reason, DJs and performers had a lot of time on their hands and many started focusing on production.

Briffa explained that it’s been a weird experience knowing that you can’t get in contact with the people you work with on a week-to-week basis and not being able to do the things you truly love.

“Although it’s been very difficult, it was also an opportunity to work on myself on a personal level and also on the brand as a DJ,” he said.

Briffa added that events such as parties were the first to be cancelled as “we did not want to encourage people to come to an event which currently, and back in the early days of Covid, would have been very irresponsible to do. At the end of the day, the priority is to keep everyone safe and healthy.”

Asked what he thinks will happen post-Covid and whether he believes that the industry will recover in Malta, Briffa remarked that if anything, there will probably be an increased conscious of how many people actually dedicate their lives to this entire industry.

He added that “many people assume that performers, dancers, singers, actors and many others, do this solely for pleasure, but in reality it is so much more as it involves dedicating and investing a lot of our time and money into our passion.”

“I hope that once we go back to the ‘normal age’, people will appreciate and be aware of the time and energy that it takes to create and perform something brillaint and entertaining,” Briffa said.

In addition, the arts and music industry will level up big time, knowing that everyone is dedicating more time and effort into production. There have been loads of new Maltese artists releasing out songs, and hopefully this will also lead to more colloboration and beyond everything else, a greater unity in the scene.