Piper Theatre Productions will be presenting an adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's Mother Savage (La Mère Sauvage) for the first time ever in Malta. The performance is a physical theatre piece based on an adaptation of Maupassant's short story set in the winter of 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War in a small village in the French countryside. Mother Savage is a powerful tale of revenge and the cost of war on families. The show is directed by Piper's artistic director John P. McEneny with an original music score by Rob Parker.
Piper Theatre is an American theatre company dedicated to producing innovative and dynamic theatre, introducing young people to the theatrical arts and providing opportunities for emerging artists to showcase their talent. Since 2000, under the artistic direction of John P. McEneny, Piper has produced more than 40 plays and showcased new works by Matt Barbot, Chadwick Boseman, Timothy Braun and Christin Cato, among others.
The company was invited to Malta as part of a more extensive project produced by Tyrone Grima and Sharon Bezzina. They will be conducting a number of workshops with the actors involved in the project Għanqbut f'Moħħha as part of a devising process, leading to a final performance in April. Piper will also be delivering a public workshop on 16 February. The workshop is designed for performers and will focus on the Grotowskian approach. Participants will have a presentation on Grotowski's Poor Theatre and the philosophy of why they commit this practice to their work at Piper Theatre Productions. They will also present and discuss the challenges, successes and mistakes that Piper has made over the past 20 years in creating physical theatre.
"Piper's visit to Malta is an opportunity for practitioners to gain skills and develop more awareness of what is happening in the theatre overseas. Piper will also be sharing the dynamics, challenges and shortcomings that they have faced as they devised their physical performance, thus facilitating a space of dialogue with practitioners and performing arts students," states co-producer Grima. He firmly believes that this dialogue could be extremely healthy and beneficial for the local practitioners to discern what can be implemented in their own practice.
Mother Savage (La Mère Sauvage) will be performed on 17 February at the MCAST theatre, Paola at 8pm. Tickets are available on www.showshappening.com
For every ticket purchased for the performance patrons will qualify for a €5 discount on tickets purchased for the final performance 'Għanqbut f'Moħħha', happening in April. The project is supported by Arts Council Malta and MCAST