Malta Arts Festival - Love to laugh

Anton Chekhov is best known for his dramatic classics. But, as Jo Caruana discovered, his short comedies are a promising blend of laugh-out-loud lines and hilarious plot twists.

The Malta Arts Festival has become our annual appointment with culture - and not just our own, but delightful snippets of life and talent from all around the world. Local theatre company Acting House Productions, while very much Malta-based, is an intercultural exercise all of its own. Set up in 2002 by German actress Irene Christ and the late Maltese journalist Julian Manduca, their aim is to bring together theatre people from different European countries and to produce high quality performances. Vaudevilles is just the latest in a line of recent, successful theatre shows.

"Russian author Anton Chekhov is well known for his short stories, and his plays have became classics," explained Ms Christ, midway through a rehearsal for the show. "Many people will, for instance, recognise The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard because they are two of his best known works, but they only reflect a small fraction of his portfolio.

"For the Summer Arts Festival we wanted to produce something light-hearted and fun so we opted for Chekhov as his studies of human behaviour (in often rather extreme situations) are very funny and entertaining, yet also deep at the same time."

The show will be split into two halves, with the first dedicated to the one-act play On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco.

"This is the story of a hen-pecked husband who has been sent by his wife to give a lecture in front of a village audience about the harmfulness of tobacco. Unfortunately, he never quite manages to stick to the point and instead grumbles on and on about his life, wife and daughters.

"German actor Tobias Lehmann directs and plays the role of the clumsy lecturer. Tobias is a German actor who has been working on stage for the last 20 years, at the city theatre in Leipzig among others, and he has a fantastic reputation for direction plays and operas so we're thrilled to be working with him."

Part 2 is The Bear, which is being directed by Stephan Baumecker.

"Stephan has worked with a long list of top directors in the German theatre including Bob Wilson, Peter Stein and Leander Haussmann; he currently works at the Volksbuehne Berlin.

"This story tells of a widow who has decided to bury herself between her four walls and give up on life following the death of her husband, much to the disapproval of her servant Luka. Suddenly her peace is harshly disturbed when The Bear walks in - a landowner from the neighbourhood, he has come to make claim to money he alleges is owed to him by her late husband. A hilarious fight ensues!"

The Bear will be played by Edward Mercieca while the role of The Widow is in the hands of Ms Christ and Graham Arnold will play The Servant.

"Live music - mainly Russian pieces - will accompany the show and will be played by accordionist Yuri Chargyguine and violinist Nemanja Lubinkovic. Originally the music was intended to simply 'frame' the show but through the rehearsal process it has become more and more integral to the piece. It's definitely going to add a lot to the atmosphere!

"Stephan, the director, was in Malta by chance during last year's festival, and we were enthusiastic members of several high-profile concerts and performances," said Ms Christ. "We enjoyed it thoroughly. Therefore, we're thrilled to be part of it ourselves this summer, especially as I love the range of great music, theatre and dance that is on offer throughout and my only regret is that I will probably miss a lot of it this year!

"But putting this show together has been a great learning curve and very exciting; it's also been interesting to perform at a completely new venue. The Ospizio in Floriana is an outside space and yet it's still very protected within the old walls of the bastions and perfect as a theatre venue. I've been totally inspired by it, it's a very romantic and beautiful spot. Our audiences should look forward to an atmospheric evening complete with music, comedy and vodka at the bar!"

Mr Baumecker added: "Both the plays tackle the good old subject of the battle between the sexes. Chekhov's writing fascinates me because although the plays are very funny he writes with a very fine-tuned psychological knowledge and a great love for the human race.

"I have been to Malta several times before, but this is my first time working over here. I am very happy about the venue in the old bastions as it allows for theatre outdoors which can be very entertaining, at the same time it's also extremely focused which I believe is necessary for a playwright like Chekhov."

• Vaudevilles is being performed on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at La Vittoria Bastions - Ospizio, Floriana, down the road from the Public Library. Tickets can be obtained online: www.maltaticket.com or from any of the following outlets in Malta and Gozo: Exotique, Agenda, Vodafone, Bookends and Newskiosk. More information may be obtained online: www.maltaculture.com, www.maltaartsfestival.com or www.actinghouseproductions.com.