Penned by the remarkable Brad Fraser, True Love Lies is a play that aesthetically seems simple, but in reality is complex and profound.

In fact, although a large chunk of it takes place in a restaurant, the play anatomises the nuclear family as we know it to reveal the hidden fractures which, in one way or another, every family experiences.

The story starts with Kane and Carolyn and their two children, flirty Madison and nerdy Royce. All seems perfectly normal and functional until one day, Madison takes up a job as a waitress at the new eatery in town; an eatery that comes with a dark secret for the family: Kane’s ex lover, David. What happens next?

Unifaun Theatre Productions, the same theatrical company that has brought you Blasted (2009), Minn Wara z-Zipp (2009), The Sex Comedies (2010) and Olly’s Prison (2013), is now ready to tackle True Love Lies under the direction of Toni Attard.

The production includes a strong cast featuring Ray Calleja as David, Pia Zammit as Carolyn, Bettina Paris as Madison, Joe Azzopardi as Royce and Jes Camilleri as Kane.

The latter has given us an insight into what’s been happening during the rehearsals and preparations for this highly-anticipated play.

“True Love Lies is a remarkable script that has some beautifully-written characters,” says Camilleri.

“Kane is the father whose past relationship with David resurfaces after a long time and forces the various characters to take a good look at themselves. I find this character to be an internally complex one, and I have enjoyed discovering clues to his personailty within the text and trying out various ideas during rehearsals.”

Of course, Camilleri is no new name and has been involved in theatre since the early 1980s, when he was part of the physical theatre group Teatru tal-Bniedem. He is also one of the founding members of Theatre Anon, with which he is now involved as an actor, director and producer.

He’s also been a part of many major productions with some of the biggest theatre companies on the island. He’s played the part of Yvan in Art (TheatreWorx), Valere in La Bete (Theatre Anon), George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? (Actinghouse Productions), Michal in The Pillowman (Unifaun), Hamlet in Hamlet (MADC), Major Arnold in Talking Sides (Atturi Productions) and Vince in Tape (Masquerade), among others – so if he looks familiar on the night, you’ll know why.

Maltese audiences are, nowadays, very willing to be exposed to sensitive subjects

“I’ve always enjoyed working with Unifaun and I’m very happy with the choice of the cast and team assembled for this production.

“I’ve only worked with Ray Calleja once before, and that was a very long time ago, so I’m glad to be working alongside him again,” continues Camilleri.

“This is the first time I’m working with Toni Attard and the other cast members, however. The great mix of old and new faces is brilliant though and I’m grateful for this opportunity to work with them all.

“There’s a very strong team spirit in the cast and they have been extremely patient with me and my attempts to juggle work, theatre and family life – which, as you can imagine, is not always easy,” admits Camilleri.

“I have had to take my four-year-old daughter, Amira, to some of the rehearsals and it was hilarious to hear the rest of the cast spontaneously replacing any inappropriate language in the script whilst she was around. Also, Pia Zammit had just had an eye injury and was wearing an eye patch, so my daughter thinks I’m in a pirate show now.”

A pirate show it may not be, but True Love Lies is every bit as dramatic and emotional – actually, it’s probably even more so. As a play, it touches upon many themes and subjects that are incredibly personal and the beauty of it is in the way these are tackled.

“I think Maltese audiences are, nowadays, very willing to be exposed to sensitive subjects and are not easily shocked or offended,” says Camilleri. “Having said that, the script does not attempt to do either, and its forte is in the way it engages the reader, or in our case, the audience, as it exposes the ‘lies’ on which the happiness of the various characters depends.

“The script, however, does not attempt to moralise or teach anyone anything in particular, but simply aims to bring to our attention to the various situations that prompt the characters to ask questions about themselves and others,” concludes Camilleri.

True Love Lies runs on Saturday, next Sunday and on October 23-26, 30-31 and November 1 and 2 at 8pm at St James Cavalier, Valletta.

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