Carnival festivities are this year being injected with new life which, ironically, is not new at all. Veronica Stivala dons her carnival mask and chats to Trevor Zahra, who wrote the script for this year’s staging of the traditional Il-Qarċilla farce.

This is a warning. On March 1, you may see a man claiming to be a notary, wandering the streets of Valletta, reading out some rather unusual, and, well, obscene, matrimonial rights to a bride and groom, who will also be wandering around with him.

He is not mad, nor will you have lost your mind. No, this is the qarċilla, or wandering farce. This is basically a re-enactment of a wedding in which a notary presides over a fake wedding ceremony reading out a contract in rhyming verse, full of, sometimes lewd, witticisms.

Those of you aged over 80 will remember the qarċilla, which used to be held during the Valletta Carnival until before World War II. Those of you aged over 260 will surely not have forgotten the first (known) qarċilla, which was written for the 1760 carnival by the poet Feliċ Demarco.

For those of you slightly younger, you don’ need to feel that you’ve missed out. This year, you will get to experience your first qarċilla, penned by Trevor Zahra, and performed by a number of actors, including Joseph Galea (It-Tfal Jiġu bil-Vapuri, L-Interdett taħt is-Sodda).

Although I do not see any harm in importing foreign traditions, we must first and foremost preserve those we have

You see, carnival this year is being revamped. Yet, interestingly, a lot of the new elements being introduced actually hark back to the past.

The idea for bringing back il-qarċilla originated from Conrad Fenech, a BA student who wrote his dissertation on the subject. His tutor Olvin Vella found this work so interesting that he encouraged Fenech to publish his work; which he did. Slowly, this idea of what is essentially street theatre began to take life.

It is interesting to note that il-qarċilla was still popular up until a few years ago in Gozo, but was practically forgotten about in Malta.

Zahra notes: “These are sweet traditions, part of our culture, and it would truly be a sin if these are forgotten. Although I do not see any harm in importing foreign traditions (like Halloween), we must first and foremost preserve those we have.”

To what extent did il-qarċilla of the past influence his script?

Zahra explains how he first read Fenech’s study and Fr Demarco’s script in order to understand its spirit, and the nuances and techniques used. The ideas came fast and although the finished product is some 2,000 words long, Zahra wrote it in three days.

“My greatest challenge,” Zahra confides, “was to write a script that was relevant to today but that kept the spirit of the past. I enjoyed writing it, because, after all, it’s just a ‘joke’ and those who know me know that I adore jokes.”

Il-Qarċilla is about the marriage contract which refers to the bride’s dowry and the conditions tied to this. However, the gifts she receives are all dated, broken or worthless objects. There are diverse references to sex as well as topical situations… political and social. There are some explicit words here and there, often references to sex.

Another great nod to the past at this year’s carnival will be the return of satire. Back in the 19th, and early 20th century, carnival parades during the British period were noted for their biting satirical themes. Many of the intricate floats were designed to poke fun at popular figures and unpopular government decisions.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the caricature of political figures often led to tense situations that induced the government to ban such customs from future editions of carnival. Political satire was essentially banned as a result of a law passed in 1936. Or so people thought.

Some of you will probably remember that a couple of years back, then Culture Minister Mario de Marco announced that the supposed law banning satire never existed. The announcement was greeted by surprise from the public. The Maltese had simply self-imposed this censorship throughout the decades by accident. And so, this year, satire is back with a bang. Look out for satirical floats and maskaruni (small and human-sized floats).

Add to this appearances will be Carnival Queens Sureya John, the UK Universal Carnival Queen, who will be headlining the first ever presentation of the Notting Hill Carnival in Malta, and the Carnival Queen from the Elimu Paddington Band, who will also perform with the Notting Hill Group.

Carnival this year really does sound exciting and I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to find out what’s in this poor bride’s dowry.

Performances of Il-Qarċilla are taking place on Saturday throughout the evening.

Carnival programme highlights inValletta and Floriana (Thursday to March 4)

Thursday, 5.30pm

Official hoisting of Carnival flag at Pjazza Teatru Rjal

Friday, 5.30pm

Dancing costume competition, King Carnival, grotesque masks, floats

Saturday, from 9.30am until late

Children’s Carnival, defilé with King Carnival, triumphal floats, defilé with special guests from Notting Hill Carnival, Il-Qarċilla, crowning of Carnival Queen

Sunday, from 12.30pm

Carnival Grand Defilé, satirical floats, Big Friends Guggen Musik

March 3, 10.15am

Carnival parade

March 4, 6pm

Carnival Gran Finale along St Anne Street, Floriana

The Malta Carnival is organised by the Carnival Committee with the support of the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts.

www.maltaculture.com

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