Malta's Porn debuts at Edinburgh festival

c gatt

Aug 12th 2009, 19:53

@Jo Fenech
Ah Sondheim! Early or later Sondheim? Joking apart , no government does not get EU funds for culture. Projects which receive culture funds( and these are far fewer then you might suppose, seeing that the EU considers culture to form part of the national domain) are chosen by the EU not government. And yes these will always have a political angle.
Speaking as one who is almost past it, i can vouch for the enormous talent we have amongst our younger generation.Unfortunately for us, and fortunately for them that talent is being noticed and they are leaving. We have a lot moe Joseph Callejas then many peopel(and the government ) suppose.
Cheers, i'm going back to listening a night at the proms from uncultured UK. PS be careful Monty Python are British ergo not at all cultured :)

Joe Fenech

Aug 10th 2009, 17:35

C Gatt : Camelot?! No - I love the Monty Python films as they are! A Bernstein or a Sondheim would go down better.. As to budgets - yes, budgets are small (or non-existent). Most local businessmen are uncultured (Norman Lowell once spoke of "kuntratturi b'zaqq h...") and unwilling to invest in the arts. However, few artists 'deliver' when occasionaly funded. The government is also getting funds from the EU for art projects but obviously there is no set criteria for grants and God knows how people obtain sponsorship! I take your word for the quality of this show. If that's the case, really good luck guys and thanks for not letting the country down! Maybe one day, Malta will lift itself up from the muck its been stuck in for ages.

C Gatt

Aug 10th 2009, 16:17

@Mr Fenech.
Of course i know that Qaddafi the opera was turnip. But no risk no gain. However The Monkey King Opera is doing pretty well. However there is one thing i don't understand about Mr Fenech. he seems to expect the same quality of work in Malta as he sees abroad. The fact that he actually expects this on the zero budgets Maltese creators are expected to work with makes me think he is either unaware of what goes into a production or prefers to ignore it. Whilst I am no great fan of this musical, i will say that the music and lyrics of Porn the musical are in the same tradition of Little Shop of horrors and Avenue Q. Now Mr Fenech may not like this type of musical (I suspect Camelot is more his thing!) but the quality of the writing is second to none and the musical arrangements are truly excellent. Mark my words you have not heard the last of these two musicians and the lyricist.

Joe Fenech

Aug 10th 2009, 10:00

B Zarb:

The Brits love CERTAIN art, usually popular ones - it's a feel good factor for them. The arts are at their best in mainland Europe.

Why in Malta?: business base, but I travel all year round!

B Zarb

Aug 10th 2009, 01:34

@ Joe Fenech

Porn the Musical is a superb production. I have watched several musicals abroad and this is refreshingly different but of a very high standard.

The truth is, if everything - especially arts related - in Malta is so terrible by your standards....what are you doing still living here? It is mentalities like yours that hold back progress in its many forms.

One final word about the Brits: I am the first to criticise them for many things starting with their cooking, but you cannot deny them their love of theatre and the arts.

G,Portelli

Aug 9th 2009, 21:37

@ Joe Fenech


Perhaps the script writers for porn could have included you in the plot as 'Exonormative Man" the guy who paints a definition of himself by subscribing to all things foreign. Gosh you mean to say you never saw any 'tripe' peddled on the floor boards of the theatres in London, Paris, Broadway? That is a rather limited experience I must say. My experience certainly don't concur with yours. Bad is Bad wherever the venue, local or not.

Joe Fenech

Aug 9th 2009, 20:26

Coryse Borg

Unfortunately, Malta has fed us with so much crap for generations that it is very hard to believe in Maltese arts anymore.

Joe Fenech

Aug 9th 2009, 20:14

Anne Marie Bonello

"get a life and if you decide to become a critic then make sure you at least see what something has to offer before criticising, or else ur opinion is as useful as having air conditioning when the lights go out!"

Thanks for your offer, but I travel constantly and prefer to see goods stuff abroad! Seen enough stuff in Malta and know what it offers!!

As to sex education: who is this for, the Gahan Malti u l-Gahan Brittaniku (they need it too since they've got one of the highest teen-age pregnancy and STD rates in Europe)?

Coryse Borg

Aug 9th 2009, 19:18

Just like there were a lot of people commenting on 'Stitching' without having seen or even read it, I would really refrain from comenting on 'Porn the Musical' if you haven't watched it. The musical is a witty, clever, well-written play with lots of extremely catchy songs & a great cast. It features no nudity and is naughty but nice. The musical was a hit in Malta (twice!) for these reasons. And it has been a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe for the same reasons. I am at the Fringe at the moment & can tell you that the audience response for the musical has so far been absoutely amazing, with laughter and applause at exactly the right moments, for all the right reasons. Not because it is 'shocking' (which, frankly, it isn't) but because it is, quite simply, a fantastic night out. And I know I 'have' to say it because I do the PR for the 'Porn' team, but if you don't believe me, ask anyone who actually watched it to give you their opinion and I'm sure they'll say the same.

Anne Marie Bonello

Aug 9th 2009, 18:25

@ Joe Fenech

why not have a musical about Mintoff or Eddie? - they get enough publicity in the christmas pantos heh

ps i didnt get what u mean about the pop corn thing...stop being ridiculous!

u have seen local production have you? then i guesse ur opinion is as good as gold! NOT!
u cant generalise...plus maybe the criteria you use to choose what production to watch results in you watching all the ugly ones!

This musical promotes Malta with its too true song which says that evry1 in Malta is related...and also promotes safe sex and being fathful since one of the characters gets and STD.

Also the actors are not just maltese wanting to act, but doctors and normal everyday people who have a talent and wanted to share their knowledge by creatng a musical which can lighten up peoples spirits.

So get a life and if you decide to become a critic then make sure you at least see what something has to offer before criticising, or else ur opinion is as useful as having air conditioning when the lights go out!

Joe Fenech

Aug 9th 2009, 15:58

C Gatt

You obviously haven't seen the Gaddafi opera and how lousy it is: the subject was contentious (a dictator and an Islamic figure in a country that faces massive problems of Islamism) which was highly ciriticised by critics and public. Asian Dub are not Glass nor Adams (not Cage!).

Anyhow, don't worry people - you don't need me to help you chose your musical subjects. In fact why not have a musical about Mintoff or Eddie? Or maybe a Gensna 2: the revival ! Now that could be really Porn !

Eric Gahn

Aug 9th 2009, 15:56

And they did not stop it. Censor it. Block it. Blacklist it? With a name like that? What a bunch of open minded people these Scots must be. Oh wait. This one is Porn not Stitching.

Joe Fenech

Aug 9th 2009, 15:23

Anne Marie Bonello :

Thanks for your comment! It's called Porn not pop corn, isn't it? I know there wasn't going to be people reproducing on stage!

No, haven't seen in but seen local production before, and know the Brits very well!

Brian Maloret

Aug 9th 2009, 13:28

Joe Fenech

Perhaps us British are open minded enough to watch something before criticising or condemning it whereas you are obviously not in your condemnation of a musical that you have not seen.

Anne Marie Bonello

Entirely agree with your comment.

c Gatt

Aug 9th 2009, 12:59

@Joe Fenech.
What a load of crock! First and foremost get your facts right. The opera Ghaddafi was commissioned by the English National Opera. And what is so shocking about that? Philip Glass has written an opera about Ghandhi, John Cage about Richard Nixon in China and the Achilles Lauri hijack. And a recent German version of a Mozart opera used the Iraq war as its inspiration.
Should composers/prodcuers now get permission from Joe Fenech as to which subjects are suitable for opera? (Oh and by the way this is a Musical Comedy not an opera!)
Bu the way the Edinburgh Fringe has nothing to do with the Brits (if anything it's Scottish!) It is an international festival and anyone can perform there. It's now up to the punters ( foreign and British) to vote with their money and buy tickets if they like it.
As for your last statement : Love art? - go to mainland Europe!!!. what is that supposed to mean?

Anne Marie Bonello

Aug 9th 2009, 12:00

@ Joe Fenech

Have you even watched it? by what u say you obviously have not....
There is nothing shocking about this play...just because it is called porn doesn't mean its a porn film dear!

So stop judging books by their covers and inform yourself before commenting!

Joe Fenech

Aug 9th 2009, 10:33

I'm not surprised that the Brits were attracted by this. Give them something shocking and they love it. Recently, Covent Garden even commissioned an opera (to the Asian Dub Foundation who admitted they knew absolutely nothing about opera) about Gaddafi (yes, our pet love Gaddafi)!!!! The Brits had also musicals about Jerry Springer!!! So don't blow your trumpets when doing something in the UK! Love art? - go to mainland Europe!!!