As the world commemorates the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, the Malta Amateur Dramatic Club looks back with pride and satisfaction at the many years that it has regaled audiences in Malta with the works of this great writer.
In 1938, MADC staged an open air performance of As You Like It at San Anton Gardens. The delighted critic of The Malta Chronicle at the time “hoped it would become an annual event.”
This was not to be until 1951 when the headmaster of the Lyceum directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The tradition lives on with MADC’s 65th Shakespeare production, having Nanette Brimmer directing the Bard’s magical comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Brimmer had at first thought of staging the play in the 1960s, to emphasise the timelessness of Shakespeare’s writings.
However, on second thoughts, she decided to celebrate the genius of the playwright by performing the play traditionally – costume and all.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream “promises to be an entertaining evening as the idyllic wooded crescent of San Anton Gardens becomes the enchanted forest, mixing reality and fantasy, with tangled lovers, mischievous fairies and mysterious goings on.”
The cast includes Davide Tucci, Joseph Zammit, Steffi Thake and Maria Buckle as the young Athenian lovers, while Roger Tirazona, Becky d’Ugo, James Borg, John Marinelli and Stephen Galea make up the rest of the Athenian court. Julia Calvert plays Titania, Antony Edridge – Oberon, Christian Galea – Puck together with Faeries Naomi Said, Maria Cassar, Hannah Grech Pirotta, Jasmine Farrugia and Mandy Randon, Michael Mangion, Joe Depasquale, Myron Ellul, Colin Willis, Alexander Gatesy Lewis and Leander Schembri are The Mechanicals.
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs at San Anton Gardens, Attard, from July 15 to July 24 at 8.30pm. Tickets may be obtained online at www.madc,com,mt, or by phone on 7777 6232.
Furthermore, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary, MADC is offering tickets on the opening night, July 15, at €12, subsequent performances are at €20.