If last season's theatre season was rather tasty, the upcoming one looks equally digestible. In this preview we'll look at what the major venues have in store for us up to the end of the year.
This time we'll begin with the theatre-in-the-round at the St James Centre for Creativity. For the first two weekends in October Immanuel Mifsud will direct Alfred Buttigieg's new play Ippermettili Nitlaq (Allow Me to Go) at St James. Mr Buttigieg is one of our finest dramatists and - as the chairman of the St James board Michael Fenech once said - he is constantly able to surprise, with his innovative ideas and skill as a playwright. Ippermettili Nitlaq concerns the stresses placed on a youngish couple when they discover that the child they are have longed for is suffering from omphalocele, a congenital malformation in which many of the organs of the abdomen stick out of the belly button. The play examines the pain the couple go through as the decide whether to have the child operated upon or whether they should let her die. Strong stuff.
Even stronger stuff follows at the end of the month and for a total of three weekends into November, when Adrian Buckle's Unifaun company presents the late Sarah Kane's savage drama Blasted. Ms Kane, who committed suicide at the age of 28 in 1999, had something of a running battle with the English critics. So the highly controversial Blasted looks like ideal Unifaun material. Mr Buckle is bringing over English director Dave Barton to direct the play.
Masquerade's first production of the season will also be held at St James. They will produce Scottish playwright David Harrower's drama Blackbird. This is a two-hander to be acted by Manuel Cauchi and Elektra Anastasi. The play was described by its author as: "A love story about two people who have been through a life-changing event together."
During December, the newly formed young people's group Kneeplays will present a theatre festival in the middle of the month and the year is seen out by the Spiteri Lucas Christmas Show. Anyone who has experienced one of their high-energy shows will know that this is always entertainment with a capital E.
Down the road at our national theatre The Manoel, the theatre season opens on October 10 with the MADC production of More Fourplay. This is a revue format show and also runs for the following weekend. Mario Micallef's company Talenti play for the first two nights of November with a Maltese translation of Neil Simon's worldwide hit comedy Plaza Suite. It is translated into Maltese as Suite 719 Fil-Plaza Hotel and is directed by Joe Izzo. The following weekend Maleth, one of our oldest theatre companies, will occupy the national theatre's stage with an English language production of Welsh playwright Frank Vickery's excellent comedy Family Planning.
November should also see the production of a play aimed at a younger audience, in accordance with the Manoel's policy of attracting children and young adults into the theatre. However, we do not yet have details of this.
December will be ushered in as usual with Jonathan Shaw's popular weekend of music in Teatru Unplugged. But obviously the main theatrical event of this month is the Manoel Theatre's pantomime. And this year it is to be Jack and the Beanstalk, produced by Masquerade. There has been much written in the press about this production. It will certainly be a first for Masquerade, but one that they should be able to take in their stride after mounting large-scale musicals like Cabaret and expensive epic plays such as Amadeus.
The MADC will this year be producing their panto at the Malta Fairs and Convention Centre in Ta' Qali. It will be Sinbad the Tailor. There will be yet another Christmas show this year, when F & M Productions will stage the Disney phenomenon High School Musical at the Mediterranean Conference Centre.
An embarrassment of riches no less.
This time we'll begin with the theatre-in-the-round at the St James Centre for Creativity. For the first two weekends in October Immanuel Mifsud will direct Alfred Buttigieg's new play Ippermettili Nitlaq (Allow Me to Go) at St James. Mr Buttigieg is one of our finest dramatists and - as the chairman of the St James board Michael Fenech once said - he is constantly able to surprise, with his innovative ideas and skill as a playwright. Ippermettili Nitlaq concerns the stresses placed on a youngish couple when they discover that the child they are have longed for is suffering from omphalocele, a congenital malformation in which many of the organs of the abdomen stick out of the belly button. The play examines the pain the couple go through as the decide whether to have the child operated upon or whether they should let her die. Strong stuff.
Even stronger stuff follows at the end of the month and for a total of three weekends into November, when Adrian Buckle's Unifaun company presents the late Sarah Kane's savage drama Blasted. Ms Kane, who committed suicide at the age of 28 in 1999, had something of a running battle with the English critics. So the highly controversial Blasted looks like ideal Unifaun material. Mr Buckle is bringing over English director Dave Barton to direct the play.
Masquerade's first production of the season will also be held at St James. They will produce Scottish playwright David Harrower's drama Blackbird. This is a two-hander to be acted by Manuel Cauchi and Elektra Anastasi. The play was described by its author as: "A love story about two people who have been through a life-changing event together."
During December, the newly formed young people's group Kneeplays will present a theatre festival in the middle of the month and the year is seen out by the Spiteri Lucas Christmas Show. Anyone who has experienced one of their high-energy shows will know that this is always entertainment with a capital E.
Down the road at our national theatre The Manoel, the theatre season opens on October 10 with the MADC production of More Fourplay. This is a revue format show and also runs for the following weekend. Mario Micallef's company Talenti play for the first two nights of November with a Maltese translation of Neil Simon's worldwide hit comedy Plaza Suite. It is translated into Maltese as Suite 719 Fil-Plaza Hotel and is directed by Joe Izzo. The following weekend Maleth, one of our oldest theatre companies, will occupy the national theatre's stage with an English language production of Welsh playwright Frank Vickery's excellent comedy Family Planning.
November should also see the production of a play aimed at a younger audience, in accordance with the Manoel's policy of attracting children and young adults into the theatre. However, we do not yet have details of this.
December will be ushered in as usual with Jonathan Shaw's popular weekend of music in Teatru Unplugged. But obviously the main theatrical event of this month is the Manoel Theatre's pantomime. And this year it is to be Jack and the Beanstalk, produced by Masquerade. There has been much written in the press about this production. It will certainly be a first for Masquerade, but one that they should be able to take in their stride after mounting large-scale musicals like Cabaret and expensive epic plays such as Amadeus.
The MADC will this year be producing their panto at the Malta Fairs and Convention Centre in Ta' Qali. It will be Sinbad the Tailor. There will be yet another Christmas show this year, when F & M Productions will stage the Disney phenomenon High School Musical at the Mediterranean Conference Centre.
An embarrassment of riches no less.