Marylu Coppini speaks to Rachel Agius about her first foray into the performing arts, her lifelong interest in drama and her latest role in MADC’s Arsenic and Old Lace.
Anyone who has ever flicked to a Maltese television channel or visited the theatre within the past 15 years will no doubt recognise Marylu Coppini, a mainstay of local productions before both the camera and a live audience.
The best part of the job? Dressing up…
With recurring roles in the likes of Santa Monica, Villa Sunset and L-Erba L’Huma, Coppini’s first appearance on film was in the 1963 children’s film Treasure in Malta, which became something of an unexpected but welcome marketing tool for the island’s charms.
Her contribution to television has not gone unnoticed and Coppini won a Malta Television Award for her supporting role in L’Erba L’Huma in 2006.
In the theatre realm, she has performed in a number of plays including the most recent as Hyacinth Bucket (or Bouquet, as she would insist) in Keeping Up Appearances and garnered a Best Actress award from MADC twice.
Having grown up acting, Coppini has gone from child star to the go-to actor for roles for older women; in this sense, she has little competition with her co-star Polly March being similarly in demand.
With such prolific theatrical and film experience, Coppini seems to enjoy the best of both worlds.
“Working on television means you reach more people and there is less pressure to get it right in one,” she says.
“With a theatre audience, there is a palpable energy and instant feedback.”
Both media have their drawbacks too.
“With a television series, it can be a very long-term commitment,” Coppini admits.
Case in point is the TVM-produced Villa Sunset with a run of over a decade, no mean feat in dedication. On the other hand, a theatre audience presents the actor with a challenge each night; no two are alike and some are more reticent than others about engaging with the drama on stage.
While acting might come naturally to someone as experienced as Coppini, the feat of memory required to recall not only lines but also cues and movement is no small one.
“It’s something that needs constant work,” explains Coppini, before going on to say that some degree of photographic memory is also needed.
Like any other skill, frequent practice keeps this ability sharp. In fact, Coppini admits that when there is a signifi-cant gap between different plays, she finds the memorising just that bit more difficult. Still, hard work and patience ensure that she is ready on opening night.
“Oh and I have a little help too,” she smiles, retrieving a small audio recorder on which she has painstakingly recorded each and every cue for her character, offering her an easier, more practical way to run through her lines. In her latest performance, timing and remembering the stage direction are just as important as dialogue.
With Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane, the 1944 film Arsenic and Old Lace was, and to some extent still is, a highly popular dark comedy.
It was first written as a play by Joseph Kesselring a few years previously but after the popularity of the Frank Capra production, audiences flocked to theatres to watch the madcap antics of Mortimer, Dr Einstein and the sweet old Abby and Martha who harbor a rather disturbing secret.
The cast bubbles with characters, both in quantity and in personality and this great variety is one of the things Coppini enjoys the most about performing in this play.
“There are so many different characters involved,” she says. “It’s very exciting to watch on stage.”
Her favourite character, she reveals, is the quack plastic surgeon, Dr Einstein, who performs his procedures while inebriated.
The best part of her job?
Coppini encapsulates the essence of actors’ love for their occupation, perhaps most fundamental reason they do what they do – “Dressing up is always fun!”
MADC’s Arsenic and Old Lace opens at The Manoel Theatre, Valletta on April 20 and runs (weekends only) until April 29. Visit www.teatrumanoel.com.mt for more information.