Is society obsessed by punishment? Has this created the violence that it is supposed to be restraining?
Edward Bond brought about the end to censorship in Britain. His influence on me brought about the end of censorship in Malta
This is the premise of Edward Bond’s seminal play Olly’s Prison being produced by Unifaun, in collaboration with St James Cavalier, next month.
Unifaun founder Adrian Buckle explains that in 2001, Edward Bond came to Malta to hold a number of workshops and he attended all of them.
“Such was the influence this man had on me that I just could not get enough. I suddenly found my voice in theatre. I wanted to do plays like these. I founded my own theatre company so that I could concentrate on this kind of theatre.”
Buckle remembers that friends and colleagues told him that this theatre was too shocking and that it would lead to violence. He disagreed – this theatre portrayed violence for the negative phenomenon it is; that is why it was so powerful.
However, he never mustered up the courage to do a Bond play until he met Chris Cooper, artistic director of Big Brum Theatre Company and they chose Bond’s Olly’s Prison for him to direct.
“Edward Bond brought about the end to censorship in Britain. His influence on me brought about the end of censorship in Malta,” says Buckle, referring to the Stitching case. “This is a unique opportunity to watch a play by the greatest living playwright, being performed by the best Maltese actors and directed by a top UK director and Bond specialist.”
Steve Hili plays Olly, a part he says is very different from anything he has ever done before.
“He is a bitter man in a difficult situation. How to portray this person truthfully is very hard. Fingers crossed!” he says.
Manuel Cauchi plays Mike, a downtrodden character he describes as a small glimpse into the harsh reality of man’s struggle to comply with the norms of society.
“Society in itself is our prison. Mike does his best to fit in but the pressure bearing down on him seems to be too much and he snaps. If he is violent, is it him or is it this prison society that has made him so?” says Manuel. “Like any other journey into the human psyche, Olly’s Prison is a straightforward raw insight of what mettle we are made of.”
Simone Spiteri plays Mike’s daughter Sheila. Her biggest challenge, she says, is the fact that she does not utter a single word in the entire play.
“It was the thing that really drew me to this part as I know that holding my own on stage without the help of any text but relying solely on my body language is an interesting challenge for me,” she says.
The rest of the cast is made up of Pia Zammit, Joseph Zammit, Dave Persiva, Victor Debono, Leander Schembri, Phillip Leone Ganado, Michael Zammit Maempel, Jo Fuller, James Sultana, Francis Nwobodo and David George Camilleri.
According to Joseph Zammit, the play’s background is crucial to the situation we find ourselves in right now on the island as far as censorship is concerned, while Persiva says that audiences should come to see the play to decide whether they are any more free than the inmates the play studies.
• Olly’s Prison is being staged at St James Cavalier on March 8, 9, 15-17 and 22 -24. Tickets may be obtained by phone on 2122 3200 or online: www.sjcav.org.
After the March 8 show, there will be a discussion with Edward Bond himself. This production is supported by the British Council, the Malta Arts Fund and the Malta Lotteries Good Causes Fund.