Summer Shakespeare play will return to its roots at San Anton

The play As You Like It performed at San Anton Gardens in 1938.

MADC’s annual summer Shakespeare play, which risked being cancelled due to a lack of venue, will be staged at the San Anton Gardens, reviving a 74-year-old tradition.

We all have to work a little harder, but it is worth it

The performance, first staged in 1938, became a yearly tradition that was only interrupted by World War II after which it resumed up until 2006 – when the new San Anton Gardens management raised the fees, making the staging of the production prohibitive.

This year it will be returning to its roots, with the The Winter’s Tale, thanks to the intervention of the Association for Performing Arts Practitioners and the Culture Ministry, an MADC spokesman said.

“It was recognised that a non-profit organisation like the MADC could not afford the commercial fees that have been keeping us away from San Anton all these years,” she said.

In May, The Sunday Times reported that the MADC committee had no choice but to cancel the play, Othello at the time, after struggling to find a suitable place to stage it.

The company initially started looking at performing at Fort St Elmo, where it had performed before, but embellishment works during the summer meant the plan had to be aborted.

About a dozen venues were explored but none of them was feasible as another event was being staged or they were unsuitable for the play. As time was pressing, the MADC committee decided it had no option but to cancel.

But hope was rekindled when the Culture Ministry stepped in to help and, two weeks ago, the decision was reversed. The ministry informed the company that they could use the San Anton gardens at a much more affordable fee.

Meanwhile the original director, Nanette Brimmer, took on other commitments but the company approached director Polly March who was available.

“Ms March opted to stage The Winter’s Tale for logistical and sentimental reasons, as well as it being a beautiful and a not so very well known play.

“Since then everything has moved very fast, including casting and planning,” the spokesman said. Rehearsals start this week – just a month before the performance. But MADC is is confident that actors have enough time to learn their lines and it helps that the nature of the play allows for a minimal set.

“We all have to work a little harder, but it is worth it, so that we can finally return to San Anton Gardens without missing a year of Shakespeare in MADC’s excellent track record,” she said.

The play will run between July 25 and 29. Tickets cost €18 and are available online at www.madc.biz or by calling 7979 6232 from July 1. There’s a discount of €5 for children and students.