Theatre
My First Time
City Theatre, Valletta

Firsts are always memorable: first steps, first words, first jobs, first dates and, of course, first sexual experiences. As far as these go, a plethora of emotions are tied to them, ranging from awkwardness and embarrassment to dismay and irritation at the fact that the loss of one’s virginity may not be quite so ideal as the romanticised versions that the entertainment industry tries to sell us.

Sometime in the late 1990s, a website dedicated to the stories of ordinary people’s first sexual encounters began to gain popularity and peaked around 1998, with writer Ken Davenport scripting a clever theatre piece in the style of ‘monologues’ in which actors recounted and interpreted stories from the thousands submitted.

Ironically, it is not the first time that My First Time was staged in Malta, but TAC Theatre’s latest production at the City Theatre in Valletta has proved that a revamped version, with a mixture of original excerpts and new topical material, is just as entertaining and funny.

Serving as a vehicle for normalising a very natural physical and emotional experience

Directed by Marc Cabourdin and Wesley Ellul, the performance was introduced by a series of factoids projected on a large overhead screen. These occasionally interspersed the actors’ segments, functioning as a means of introducing certain themes which the sexcapades were divided into.

What was particularly clever was the use of certain Maltese attitudes and elements which were incorportated in the stories. These gave the performance a touch of local humour and drove home the fact that the Maltese are just as naughty, inventive and sexually active as anybody else. This was also aided by the questionnaire which was conducted in the foyer before the show, where certain questions were asked regarding the audience’s bedroom exploits and the answers to which were then read randomly and anonymously throughout the show, allowing the actors to exercise their improvisation skills and link the answers to the sketches and monologues which were to follow.

Jo Caruana and Thomas Camilleri gave brilliant performances, with Caruana’s various voices and accents complementing her interpretation of an array of characters, from demure young girls to coy middle-aged virgins and disillusioned (and disgusted) young women. Her timing was spot on and she kept up the pace with a strong dynamic with the rest of the cast.

Camilleri’s characterisation was nuanced, ranging from goofy young men to lecherous perverts, relying on his dead-pan deliveries and sharp remarks.

Naomi Said’s characters were slightly more serious, presenting the audience with the pitiful and rather disturbing story of voluntary incest fueled by pity and love for a dying sibling, and while her diction was at times slightly unclear, her comical mechanical sketch with Thomas Camilleri, as narrated by Joe Azzopardi, was particularly entertaining. Azzopardi himself brought a stronger element of self-deprecation and raunch to the already-salacious stories thanks to his throwaway lines and dry humour.

What I found particularly encouraging and important was the awareness that some of the more serious sketches raised in favour of mutual sexual consent and the fact that rape and molestation are never justifiable. While the audience may have felt shocked or uncomfortable when faced with these sad realities in a show that is largely humorous and extremely entertaining, the message was important to put across and gave the production an admirable cause as well as serving as a vehicle for normalising a very natural physical and emotional experience.

Definitely a show which is not to be missed.