As a foreigner living on this small island of Malta, I had not expected such a great performance of William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice at San Anton Gardens by a group of ‘amateur’ actors (MADC) and their director, Joe Friggieri.

The setting was perfect. Between old trees and the presidential palace, this over 400-year-old play seemed to have come to life again with a new awakening.

The accompanying music carried you back to the late 16th century but costumes and acting certainly brought you back to the contemporary scene.

Portia metamorphosed to at least three types of women we actually know: the sexy solitary single who is waiting for her dream match; the devote charming wife who has nothing in her mind but to please her husband; and, thirdly, the female that can swap into the role that society asks of the superior male performers.

Disguised as a doctor of justice, she even outdid the court with her wit. Each of her roles were accompanied by the perfectly matching dress.

Maybe it would take too long here to comment on all the other roles that were equally well played. Perhaps the most outstanding were Shylock, with his incredible ability to imitate even the expected accent of the Jew, the very funny characters of Gratiano and the Prince of Morocco, as well as the resolute Nerissa, Portia´s lady-in-waiting. I can only recommend that one should watch the performance. Maybe one will then also come to the same conclusion as the French man behind me who mumbled to a Maltese sitting next to him: “That’s really good!”

Even my 12-year-old daughter enjoyed it.