MADC and the Manoel panto

With reference to the article on June 20 regarding the staging of this year's panto at the Manoel Theatre, I would like to point out that contrary to what Peter Fenech, chairman of the Manoel Theatre Management Committee, is reported as saying (i.e. that nobody can claim they introduced pantomime to Malta) I must point out that the MADC's first production in its long history was, in fact, the pantomime Aladdin at the Manoel Theatre in 1910.

So, of any drama group in existence today, the MADC by far comes closest to making this claim.

Also, with declarations being bandied about that panto doesn't belong to any one company and accusations of monopoly etc, perhaps one should ask oneself why previous Manoel Theatre management committees have held on to the MADC's production for so long?

Presumably this is because the MADC has consistently "come up with the goods" and honoured all payments including numerous "special" panto levies, for three decades. And now the question comes up of how MADC has succeeded in doing this year after year? For one, it is the longest standing club of its nature and virtually the only one remaining which belongs solely to its members.

These elect a management committee each year, thereby, perhaps, sustaining the effort needed to produce this massive annual production.

The main incentive being that the pantomime is now its principle source of income, permitting the club to honour its years-old commitment to present "productions worthy of public support" throughout the season.

In 28 years these numbered at least 150, including plays, musicals, open-air Shakespeare plays and an annual festival for new talent. Long gone are the days when organised groups like the Scouts Association were hunted down for group bookings in order to ensure a fuller audience for the club's pantomime.

What I can't help asking myself is, what has kept MADC's current competitors from producing a pantomime at an alternative venue? Presumably, because it is a major undertaking for a private individual to fork out the tens of thousands of euro (even old liri) to put on a panto and it therefore makes much greater financial sense to replace the established pantomime in the established venue and rely on that company's goodwill to "inherit" its established audience!

Which goodwill and tenacity has only come about through the club's intrinsic system of renewal, sheer hard work and undeniable artistic ability! Indeed the huge web of those involved in the MADC's panto success over the years includes these very same individuals who are now competing to feast on the club's success.

However, notwithstanding these difficulties, and armed with a formidably talented panto team helping to ensure the continued support of its audiences, the club is ever optimistic as it opens a new chapter in its amazing 100-year history.