When I was first commissioned to write a play for Spazju Kreattiv last year, I took it as an opportunity to learn and dive into the world of theatre which was still so very new to me. I couldn't just write a play, so I took that year as a learning curve to make the best out of the theatre platform - also thanks to guidance by both Simone Spiteri, who served as a mentor and Lee-N Abela, the person directing the play; both have been so elemental in the creation of Taralalla.
What is it that I wanted to say? My writing took a form of its own and I couldn't not write about the obvious - construction, immigration and shall we call it the allusive "Maltese dream" of becoming the "new little rich"; thanks to a system which seems to offer no further economic aspirations to their citizens.
In fact, Taralalla, as the name of the play goes, is an alliterated version of the Maltese words Tara 'l Alla, which in literal terms means "seeing God", but it socially connotes to a person who is over ambitious in a negative way.
Challenging deference and apathy
As Malta's construction frenzy reaches a whole new level - chaos, noise pollution and claustrophobia have become a normal day-to-day experience for most people living on the island. I mean, haven't we all heard enough about over-construction now? However, the theatrical play Taralalla breathes the NOW and the quotidian circumstances, which over-construction has both mentally and physically imposed on us.
Taralalla seeps through the personal lives of five different individuals - the kind of individuals who speak of no grandiosity or particularity, but for that same reason, the characters in the play are so accessible and relatable. Each character resonates a different tone to construction in general - construction for a better future; construction as a destroyer of peace; construction as the hallmark of local politics; construction as a defining factor between the almighty and the vulnerable.
The sufferers and the benefactors of such a ludicrous industry are not always easy to define. While on the one extreme we have the big developers who "have nothing to lose" there also lies a thick grey line of benefactors that is made of people from different classes and different walks of life. Then, at the other suffering end, are not just the abused workers who have no rights and no proper wages but there also lies an entire nation - a nation that is suffering the mental and physical consequences on an everyday bases - consequences such as noise, traffic, uglification, loss of open spaces and pollution.
The normalisation of the effects of a fast-becoming cosmopolitan Malta is making its negative implications even harder to address. This "being used to" is almost illusive that the situation can only go downhill from here, as a mass apathy to directly challenge the situation is as common as ever. However, Taralalla challenges this notion of helplessness towards the over-construction situation; it being so evident and so negatively consequential, mass deference is questioned through the play.
A celebration of the senses
The written script will be given life thanks to Lee-N's very capable hands. As a director, she will take Taralalla's writing to a whole new level, where through numerous prompts and installations, there will be a celebration of the senses, where people watching the play will feel immersed within this entire theatrical experience.
Also thanks to Spazju Kreattiv for providing all the necessary props and professionals to truly actualise Taralalla's full potential.
For bookings kindly visit www.kreattivita.org or phone on 2122 3200.