Political theatre will be one of the common threads running through the next Mid-Dinja tat-Teatru session, as John Schranz and Pino Scicluna will be interviewed by Immanuel Mifsud.
Offering a glimpse into the world of theatre in Malta, the Mid-Dinja tat-Teatru series is back for another season. Every month, some of the protagonists from the Maltese theatre scene share ideas, experiences and memories on the Manoel Theatre stage. Audiences not only physically share the same stage, but also the same dreams and memories, gaining a holistic perspective of Maltese theatre from different aspects of stage production.
One of the founders of Maltese auto-didactic group theatre, Schranz’s work with what was soon to become his theatre group started in 1968. The group went through a number of phases until in 1993 it became Gruppi għall-Inkontri tal-Bniedem (Groups for Human Encounter). Schranz is committed to performer pedagogy and dramaturgy and their ethical implications.
This commitment was informed by encounters with top theatre-makers. The last 15 years have seen a continuous intensification and refinement of Schranz’s 45 years of research into the interdisciplinary possibilities of the creative act.
Schranz is also behind the interdisciplinary European Master’s Degree Programme in the Science of Performative Creativity (MSPC). Coordinated by the University of Malta, the programme involved a network of five universities: Paris 13, Rome’s La Sapienza, De Montfort University (Leicester) and Poznan’s Adam Mickiewicz.
Formerly chairman of the International Arts Festival of Malta and member of the management committee of the Manoel Theatre, Schranz launched and directed (1990 and 1992) the University of Malta’s Biennial Festival of Contemporary Research Theatre. He is on the editorial boards of a number of journals as well as being the author of various books.
Born in Malta in 1956, Scicluna graduated in animal husbandry before obtaining a diploma with distinction in dramatic art from the Manoel Theatre in Malta.
He then started working with Ateatru, with artists such as Peter Busuttil, Michael Fenech, Dominic Said, Ġużi Gatt, Anna Stivala, Alfred Buttigieg, Francis Ebejer and many others. The group performed works by Alfred Jarry, Dario Fo, Jean Genet, Harold Pinter, as well as by Maltese dramatists Alfred Buttigieg, Oreste Calleja and Francis Ebejer. The latter even wrote a play for Pino: Il-Ġaħan ta’ Binġemma.
In the 1990s, he went to Italy and took a decision that changed his life completely as he decided to channel all his energy and stamina into theatre, making it his profession.
Since then he has been working as an actor with a number of Italian theatre groups. Meanwhile, in Malta, he worked on a number of productions, including Marlow’s Dr Faustus and a theatrical monologue about his father who was interned by the English during World War II with Giuseppe Schembri Bonaci as director. With Peter Busuttil as director, he also worked on Iġsmaiħirsa, written by Oreste Calleja, as well as Beckett’s Nistenna lil Godot, translated by himself.
With Katia Capato he has recently formed Nuove Cosmogonie Teatro, and created performances on Caravaggio, Corto Maltese and Cheetah, Tarzan’s animal friend.
As last season, audiences will be seated on the Manoel Theatre stage, sharing the delight most theatre people experience when looking on it.
The interviews will again be held with some of the protagonists of the Maltese theatre scene, coming from a variety of roles: from actors and directors to producers.
This season will also introduce a number of changes: apart from the well-known names, the series will also feature upcoming protagonists making a mark on the local theatre scene. All interviews will be carried out in Maltese by Mifsud.
Mid-Dinja tat-Teatru, which is on tomorrow at 7pm, is a collaboration between the Manoel Theatre and the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, complementing the Francis Ebejer Competition. Entrance is free but seat numbers are limited, so booking is essential.
www.teatrumanoel.com.mt