With less than a week to go before Ma Rridx Immur hits the stage, Iggy Fenech speaks to author Leanne Ellul about her award-winning script and theatre productions in our native language.

Ruth Borg in Ma Rridx Immur. Photo: Kris Micallef

Our theatre scene is buzzing and from tragedy to musical theatre to satire, the Maltese public is spoilt for choice. Yet when it comes to original scripts written in Maltese, we’re still somewhat lagging behind.

Many may find this strange, particularly because we have a rich literary tradition that extends to novels and poetry. But theatre is a different beast altogether.

That’s why, as Leanne Ellul’s Francis Ebejer Award-winning script for Ma Rridx Immur is pre-prepped to go on stage, I talked to her about script writing, theatre in Maltese and the upcoming play.This is what she had to say.

“I always had a passion for writing. I started out by experimenting with rhymes and lyrics and eventually poetry. On the other hand, I always loved the stage and the charm it carries with it remained.

“At first I used to experiment by writing monologues or very short plays. Eventually, I disciplined myself even more and I started to stretch my limits, even with regards to writing longer texts.”

Ma Rridx Immur was the first play she penned from beginning to end and with it materialised most of what Ellul had always envisioned and worked for – albeit slowly.

“Attending writing seminars and workshops, sharing my work with fellow writers, reading and watching plays and writing and rewriting helped a great deal. I guess it was my experimentation with different genres that helped this play reach first place at the Francis Ebejer Awards – in fact, poetry has quite a presence in Ma Rridx Immur. “

The Francis Ebejer Award isn’t really a prize; it’s a recognition that sets you on a journey

She says that the Francis Ebejer Award isn’t really a prize, but more of a recognition that sets you on a journey, a journey for which she is really grateful.

“These past months have been truly wonderful and I’ve met some really talented people that are genuinely working hard to bring out the best of what I’ve written.”

The idea for Ma Rridx Immur started out in an MRI tube. Being the energetic person Ellul is, she couldn’t stand the time spent in the tube. That was the point when she started to envision the play. From then on, Ellul spent a lot of time researching the central themes. She says that the script contains an interplay of themes that she really wanted to explore and tap into.

“My inspiration came from several issues: namely the sensitivity about the issue of illness, which I feel we must address more in our theatres.

“I believe the audience appreciates original plays, be they in English or Maltese. An original play doesn’t only mean a play that has never been staged before, but also a play that is produced in an original way.People appreciate a piece that gives them something to ponder and, if they are not used to plays in Maltese and a Maltese production happens to strike them, I think that they might appreciate it even more. It is wonderful to see a fresh play in one’s own language.”

Asked to elaborate on the reasons why plays in Maltese remain infrequent, she says that the issue is also related to the types of plays being written, the quality of the scripts and the themes portrayed in the play.

“If Maltese works don’t tap into topics that foreign plays do, some directors and producers will obviously opt for an English play instead.”

She concedes that it is also a question of budgets, adding that it is one thing to get the rights for a play and another to write a new script.

“On the positive side of things, more producers are willing to stage Maltese works and original ones too, while several festivals for young children and adults as well as prizes, such as Francis Ebejer, are pushing for Maltese plays too.”

Ma Rridx Immur is directed by Jimmy Grima and presented by the Manoel Theatre and the Rubberbodies Collective with the support of the Arts Council Malta. The play runs on Friday and Saturday at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta. Tickets are available online and at the box office.

www.teatrumanoel.com.mt

What the director had to say

“This is the first time that I’m directing a ready-made script or someone else’s idea for a performance. But when I read the submitted version of the script I saw potential. That’s why I asked the author to allow me to review and rewrite the script for me to be able to stage it.

“Naturally, I invited the author to be part of the process and we started editing and rewriting. We mostly focused on the general narrative and character arcs. A group of actors were engaged to read out the script and we moved on from there.

“After the drafting of the final working script, I brought it to the studio where I spent two weeks re-editing it while working with the actors in the space. We now have a fourth script which we are working with and this should evolve to the final staged performance.”