At first glance the theatre season starting this month looks both varied and very interesting. Both of our mainstream theatres have gone for an eclectic mix of drama and comedy and - this season at any rate - the mainstream companies seem to have the lion's share of productions.
Taking our national theatre The Manoel first: The MADC will open their season between October 12 and 14 with the American playwright Robert Harling's off-Broadway hit Steel Magnolias. This was made into a very successful movie weepie starring Shirley Maclaine, Sally Field and Julia Roberts. The MADC stage version will be directed by Michael Zammit Maempel.
Next up is a Maltese language drama produced by the Caravaggio Foundation:Caravaggio: l-inkjesta (Caravaggio: the investigation) which ties in with this year's Caravaggio 400 celebrations marking the great Renaissance artist's time spent in Malta. It will be performed in The Manoel Theatre between October 19 and 21. Written and directed by Joe Friggieri, the play has a large cast including dancers and a madrigal singer.
From November 9 to 11 one of our oldest and most distinguished theatre companies Maleth will produce one of the great Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni's finest works A Servant Of Two Masters, in a Maltese translation, at The Manoel Theatre. This is in celebration of the 300th anniversary of Snr Goldoni's birth.
The Manoel Theatre's commitment to attracting the younger generation to the theatre is emphasised in mid November with a production of The Emperor's New Clothes. Does this mean nudity on the stage of the national theatre? Dream on...
Early December at The Manoel sees a production of the original Maltese language play Awstralja by Joseph Vella Bondin. This will be produced by Bronk.
The next bit of theatre at The Manoel will be the panto. This is always extremely popular and this year it is to be Pirates Of The Mediterranean, written by Edward Merceica and directed by one of Malta's finest ever principal boys Nanette Brimmer. The panto will be produced by the MADC and will run from December 26 to January 13.
Life up the road at the St James centre For Creativity will be as busy as ever, with the first drama production taking place this month. Thank goodness for air conditioning.
Irene Christ's Actinghouse production of the contemporary German playwright Dea Loher's piece Tattoo. It will be produced at St James theatre-in-the-round. Tattoo will play from September 14 to 16, then again the following weekend from September 21 to 23. (See page two).
For three days at the end of this month Bronk Productions will present A Tribute to Francis Ebejer, again in the theatre-in-the-round at St James.
In early October Curtainraiser Theatre Troupe move into St James with the highly original musical Yanomamo, by Peter Rose and Anne Conlon. This concerns the plight of the Yanomamo people who inhabit the rainforests of Brazil and whose very existence is under threat from so-called civilisation.
For the rest of the month of October Masquerade take over the St James theatre for their first production of the new season. They have chosen to present John Patrick Shanley's powerful and controversial drama: Doubt. This play won the 2005 Tony award for best play and the Pulitzer Prize, becoming the biggest sensation Broadway has seen in years. It will be directed by Tony Bezzina, with Monica Attard in the pivotal role of Sister Aloysius.
Unifaun Theatre Company take over St James in early November with Marcelle Theuma's direction of Peter Shaffer's extraordinary and powerful play Equus. This will have an A-list cast including Alan Paris, Sean Buhagiar and Pia Zammit. It will run at the theatre-in-the-round from November 2 - 4, then again for the following two weekends.
A fairly new production company Lemonhead will take the St James theatrical fare into the month of December when they present a Maltese translation of Lucrezja Borgia, based on the novel by Victor Hugo.
So there is much to enjoy in the coming three months... all this and the MADC One-Act-Play Festival at the end of this month.
Taking our national theatre The Manoel first: The MADC will open their season between October 12 and 14 with the American playwright Robert Harling's off-Broadway hit Steel Magnolias. This was made into a very successful movie weepie starring Shirley Maclaine, Sally Field and Julia Roberts. The MADC stage version will be directed by Michael Zammit Maempel.
Next up is a Maltese language drama produced by the Caravaggio Foundation:Caravaggio: l-inkjesta (Caravaggio: the investigation) which ties in with this year's Caravaggio 400 celebrations marking the great Renaissance artist's time spent in Malta. It will be performed in The Manoel Theatre between October 19 and 21. Written and directed by Joe Friggieri, the play has a large cast including dancers and a madrigal singer.
From November 9 to 11 one of our oldest and most distinguished theatre companies Maleth will produce one of the great Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni's finest works A Servant Of Two Masters, in a Maltese translation, at The Manoel Theatre. This is in celebration of the 300th anniversary of Snr Goldoni's birth.
The Manoel Theatre's commitment to attracting the younger generation to the theatre is emphasised in mid November with a production of The Emperor's New Clothes. Does this mean nudity on the stage of the national theatre? Dream on...
Early December at The Manoel sees a production of the original Maltese language play Awstralja by Joseph Vella Bondin. This will be produced by Bronk.
The next bit of theatre at The Manoel will be the panto. This is always extremely popular and this year it is to be Pirates Of The Mediterranean, written by Edward Merceica and directed by one of Malta's finest ever principal boys Nanette Brimmer. The panto will be produced by the MADC and will run from December 26 to January 13.
Life up the road at the St James centre For Creativity will be as busy as ever, with the first drama production taking place this month. Thank goodness for air conditioning.
Irene Christ's Actinghouse production of the contemporary German playwright Dea Loher's piece Tattoo. It will be produced at St James theatre-in-the-round. Tattoo will play from September 14 to 16, then again the following weekend from September 21 to 23. (See page two).
For three days at the end of this month Bronk Productions will present A Tribute to Francis Ebejer, again in the theatre-in-the-round at St James.
In early October Curtainraiser Theatre Troupe move into St James with the highly original musical Yanomamo, by Peter Rose and Anne Conlon. This concerns the plight of the Yanomamo people who inhabit the rainforests of Brazil and whose very existence is under threat from so-called civilisation.
For the rest of the month of October Masquerade take over the St James theatre for their first production of the new season. They have chosen to present John Patrick Shanley's powerful and controversial drama: Doubt. This play won the 2005 Tony award for best play and the Pulitzer Prize, becoming the biggest sensation Broadway has seen in years. It will be directed by Tony Bezzina, with Monica Attard in the pivotal role of Sister Aloysius.
Unifaun Theatre Company take over St James in early November with Marcelle Theuma's direction of Peter Shaffer's extraordinary and powerful play Equus. This will have an A-list cast including Alan Paris, Sean Buhagiar and Pia Zammit. It will run at the theatre-in-the-round from November 2 - 4, then again for the following two weekends.
A fairly new production company Lemonhead will take the St James theatrical fare into the month of December when they present a Maltese translation of Lucrezja Borgia, based on the novel by Victor Hugo.
So there is much to enjoy in the coming three months... all this and the MADC One-Act-Play Festival at the end of this month.