The Bard returns to San Anton for the second time this summer, with British theatre company TNT putting up one of the best-loved classics. Jo Caruana talks to director Paul Stebbings.

As local standards continue rising from strength to strength, the injection of a foreign production still promises to add something that little bit different to Malta’s theatrical calendar.

Malta is one of the jewels in our touring crown

And even though Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream has been performed here countless times, it is one of the classics that is always well attended thanks to its whimsical approach and captivating script.

So it’s with that in mind that I chat to Paul Stebbings, the artistic director behind TNT, a touring company that will shortly be returning to Malta to showcase the Dream as its latest work. Stebbings is well-known for his creative flair and has been involved in the company since its launch in 1980. The Dream, as he calls it, is one of his favourite pieces ever.

“Shakespeare is so inspiring that his works need no other inventiveness than the plays themselves,” the director explains, when asked for his own inspiration behind the re-workings of this popular classic.

“I believe it to be one of the funniest and wisest plays ever written. The play is the last of the true comedies and it seems to me that Shakespeare has exhausted the form and almost plays with it in this script.

“It always goes down a treat with audiences, and for good reason. We were keen to tour new work and eager to return to Malta to perform outdoors on a summer night – the Dream was not so much an inspired choice for us as a command from the theatre gods!”

TNT Theatre (produced by ADG Europe) is arguably one of the most popular international touring theatre companies in the world. Nevertheless, its beginnings were humble and it was actually started by three out of work actors.

“We borrowed my mum’s little car to tour the UK,” Stebbings reminisces. “And those early days inspired and motivated us. We then linked up with producer Grantly Marshall’s ADG Europe in 1993 and planned some exciting projects.”

By 1994 TNT decided to stop chasing UK funds and subsequently became an independent global touring theatre. Since, it has carved a unique international identity, aiming to combine all the performing arts within each production. As a result, it has carved a solid reputation for its challenging work and its truly broad appeal.

This season alone, TNT performed some 12 productions in almost 40 countries on three continents. “One of the true jewels in our touring crown is definitely Malta,” says Stebbings, recalling past productions that played here to great acclaim, including Oliver Twist, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and, most recently, Macbeth.

“We usually perform at the Manoel Theatre, which is a stunning setting, but this year we have had the privilege of securing San Anton Palace Gardens, and we certainly believe there could be no better setting for this show.”

Summed up in his own words, the director describes the play as a “story that sweeps three groups of people along in its magnificent wake: four young lovers and their vengeful parents, a group of truly appalling amateur actors and the King and Queen of the Fairies, who seem set on a most un-amicable divorce imaginable. Throw in an incompetent magician, a donkey head and the Queen of the Amazons and it’s a heady brew,” he explains with a smile, adding that the production also enjoys a delightful score of original music by Thomas Johnson.

Meanwhile, the lively cast is something to celebrate and is bound to give the audience a truly original interpretation of the Bard’s classic. Made up of highly-experience professional actors with a talent for music, dance and song, the company is known to concentrate on its team’s unique skills. It seems to hit the right note, too, with the production already going down a storm in Germany, China, Israel, France, Britain and Spain.

“We concentrate on the abilities of the actor and the imagination of the audience. That, combined with Shakespeare’s incredible story-telling, makes this a production that will doubtlessly delight.

“After all, it encourages us to laugh at ourselves – and that is the core function of comedy. I truly believe that we, as people, haven’t changed that much since this script would have first been performed.

“Men and women still stare at each other across a dividing wall, and we are all still fools for love. It is that that makes it so wonderfully relevant.”

A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be held at San Anton Gardens between Wednesday and Saturday. Tickets are available by calling7979 0200 or online.

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