Bariona: A Christmas play for believers and non-believers

Theatrencore is staging Jean-Paul Sartre’s Bariona in the first weekend of December under the direction of Tyrone Grima. The play is being timed as a warm-up to Christmas but offers an alternative form of entertainment for those who desire something more engaging than a traditional Nativity play.

Bariona is Sartre’s first play, a work that does not sit comfortably with the rest of his works as here his atheism grapples with the element of hope that is born with the coming of Christ, and touches upon the mystery of humanity. In this play, which is a Christmas play for believers and non-believers, the spotlight turns away from narrating the events that see Christ coming into the world. Rather, the central characters are ordinary people, struggling with their human existence, and reacting to the news of the birth of the Messiah.

Bariona, the village chief, loses all hope for a more prosperous future and condemns his people to their own extermination as his own wife announces her first pregnancy. Against this despair, an angel brings them news of the birth of Christ. This news becomes the lifeline for villagers who are prepared to perpetuate life against all odds, and for parents who continue to want to bring children into the world.

The context serves to provide for a source of hope amid circumstances that refer to the most desperate. Sartre wrote this play during his time as a prisoner of war in 1940 and it was originally performed by himself together with his fellow inmates. The lack of freedom implicit in his situation is echoed in the play by references of oppressive rule by the Romans at the time of the birth of Christ. Within this, the protagonist, played by Philip Leone Ganado, is isolated in his search for inner truth such that he is able to grow to reach spiritual and philosophical heights. Freedom becomes an internal process, rather than one determined by external social circumstances. The theme of the relationship between entrapment and hope is central to the play, and it is in this light that the play remains a relevant piece of theatre to us in the 21st century – one that is relevant to Christians and non-Christians alike.

Theatrencore’s production engages with these themes through the text giving it a form that is ritualistic and symbolical. The set in particular will be used to heighten the effect of the oppression.

• Bariona will be staged at St James Cavalier on December 3-5 at 8 p.m. Tickets may be obtained by phone on 2122 3216 or online: www.sjcav.org. The production of Bariona is being supported by the Malta Arts Fund.

Theatrencore will also be collaborating with the Carmelite Institute in Mdina for an event designed particularly to engage students of philosophy, psychology, theology, spirituality and the arts, although all students are welcome. This will include an adapted version of the play together with a seminar focusing on the theme of vision. The seminar will be chaired by Fr Charlò Camilleri and speakers include Fr Rene Camilleri, Angele Licari and Caldon Mercieca. More information regarding reservations may be obtained by e-mail: carmeliteinstitute@gmail.com or theatrencore@gmail.com.