When Tinseltown collides with reality

FM Theatre Productions will be staging the hilarious Stones In His Pockets at St James Cavalier in Valletta, a comedy packed with Irish wit and charm.

Stones In His Pockets tells the hysterical story of a small Irish community colliding with the unreality of Tinseltown when a major Hollywood film studio descends on a village in County Kerry in rural Ireland to make a slushy romantic picture called The Quiet Valley.

The absurdities involved in making a film are observed from the worm's-eye view of two of the many locally-hired extras earning £40 a day to look downtrodden and oppressed on demand.

The play features well-known actors Edward Mercieca and Alan Paris who will play no less than 15 different roles, including the two aspiring movie extras, Jake and Charlie, the spoilt starlet Caroline, the harassed director and a host of other extraordinary local characters.

The comedy full of Irish charm is written by Marie Jones whose credits include A Night In November and Women On The Verge Of HRT and is partly based on Ms Jones' experience of acting roles in films shot in Ireland.

The production was initially produced at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast in April 1999, before moving on to become the hit of the 1999 Edinburgh Festival and taking the West End and Broadway by storm.

Directed by Chris Gatt, Stones in His Pockets will be performed at St James Cavalier between Friday and Sunday, and between May 6 and 7.

Booking is open from the St James Cavalier booking office on telephone number 2122 3200 or email boxoffice@sjcav.org.