The year is 2036 and Malta has just found a vast oil reserve – under the Addolorata Cemetery. The church, the opposition and the business class are fighting over what to do next, and suddenly this new world doesn’t feel that different to our own.

Sibna ż-Żejt, an original play opening at the Manoel Theatre this weekend, and set 20 years in the future, when the Labour Party has been in power for so long that Joseph Muscat is now actively trying to lose an election.

Written by Wayne Flask and directed by Sean Buhagiar, it features a cast of real-life characters including Mario De Marco, Daphne Caruana Galizia and construction magnate Charles Polidano.

“Some things have changed, but others have stayed the same,” says Mr Flask, previously known for his online satire under the name Satiristan.

“We’re pitting against each other all the different forces that hold power in Maltese society today.”

The decision to populate his cast with real figures, or versions of them at least, may well be a first for the Maltese stage, but Mr Flask believes Malta has been crying out for “quality satire” that is unafraid of tackling things head on.

“People approach politics – and politicians – too seriously,” says Mario Philip Azzopardi, artistic director of production company Staġun Teatru Malti.

“As a character in this play puts it: we can’t make them into gods of flesh and blood.”