After last year’s Il- Kapillan ta’ Malta, Staġun Teatru Malti chose to produce another war-related play as their summer offering this year.

The effects of this devastating period on our national psyche can still be felt to this day, in the way this nation and its people still retains strong feelings towards both Britain and Italy. Both countries were considered to be either saviours or villains depending on your political point of view.

The script cleverly exploits this national split of allegiance to develop a vivid backdrop to what is essentially a love triangle. Immanuel Mifsud’s perfectly-weighted script ensures that, despite the fact that Malta was a British colony fighting on the side of the Allies, the British army is depicted warts and all and not without its own failings.

The play opens with a pro-Mussolini march through the streets of Valletta quickly degenerating into a fist fight after a confrontation with the British servicemen ‘on duty’ in the red-light district and the ‘black shirts’ being detained by the military police.

This sets the tone for the rest of the play and avoids the over-romanticising of our colonialist past that colours many a war story.

Once again, Staġun Teatru Malti chose the newly-restored Pjazza d’Armi in Fort St Elmo to stage this year’s open-air production. The venue is not only a perfect enclosure for holding similar theatre productions, but its links with the story were also cleverly exploited.

Backstage crew and catering staff were dressed in period costume and recordings of period music greeted the audience as they arrived. One very commendable idea was that a live pianist (Dominic Galea) accompanied the production throughout, in full view of the audience. This not only ensured perfect synchronisation of the incidental music to the action but also elevated the music to a primary position in the production.

Josette Ciappara’s direction was tight throughout and, aided by a uniformly strong cast (despite its size), she managed to ensure that the story was told simply but effectively.

Adrian Mamo’s ingenious set, initially made up of four timber containers, could be transformed very quickly into a number of complex settings. The trio at the heart of the narrative is not the gladiator fighter planes that give the production its name, but three young lovers brought together by the war.

Amidst this politically-turbulent atmosphere, Marija, a young nurse played by the ebullient Sarah Camilleri, encounters two dashing young pilots from either side. These are the British William Timber Woods, played by a clean-shaven and almost unrecognisable Carlos Farrugia, and his Italian adversary Francesco Cavalli, played by the dashing Davide Tucci.

Azzopardi has lost none of the brilliance of her heyday

I felt that the diverse characters of the two male suitors were not developed enough by the script, possibly because their different nationalities were not exploited. The fact that both spoke in perfect Maltese did not help.

The three actors, however, gave solid performances – particularly Camilleri, who managed to portray the wide array of emotions brought on by war without overdoing the ‘high notes’.

Equally memorable performances were those of the family of peasants working on the estate of Marija’s aristocratic grandmother, the Countess Fiorini Sacco (played by the evergreen Monica Attard).

Led by theatre stalwarts Simon Curmi and Mario Micallef, this extended family clearly captured the confusion, pain and suffering of the common Maltese man in the street during the war.

Mifsud’s script beautifully captures the gaping divide between the people in power and those who were dragged into the war without even knowing where Germany and Italy are on the world map.

This balance of humour and pathos was a determining factor in ensuring that the script did not degenerate into over-sentimentalism. A special mention must go out to the young actor Jamie Cardona, who continues to impress with each production.

There were a number of factors that made this production a must-see. However, I am sure that most will agree that the return of one of Malta’s best actresses to the stage was reason enough to watch this production.

After a hiatus of 10 years, Karmen Azzopardi finally returned to the stage to play the part of the play’s central character Marija as an octogenarian retelling her story to the audience.

Azzopardi has lost none of the brilliance of her heyday. She still manages to captivate an audience with her strong stage presence and sincerity. I hope that we will see more of this wonderful actress on stage in the near future.

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