It’s going to be a barrel of laughs at the MADC as the theatre company gets set to stage two one-act comedies, The Erpingham Camp by Joe Orton, and Womberang by Sue Townsend, directed by Colin Willis and Kate Hudson respectively.

The Erpingham Camp is a black farce loosely based on Euripedes’ The Bacchae. It is set in a Butlins-style holiday resort which is ruled by the megalomaniac Erpingham. He is brought down by the holiday-makers, who revolt against his high-handed treatment of them. The plot satirises in a very funny way organised religion and other institutions which seek to control individuality.

Womberang is set in the outpatients gynaecological ward of an NHS hospital. It features Rita Onions, a woman who rallies and cajoles the other patients into discarding their fear of authority and standing up for themselves.

According to Diana Devlin, who critiqued the published collection of these (short collected) plays in Drama, “her situations capture the bizarre aspects of what passes for ‘normal’ life”.

The play is very funny and pokes fun at the pompous attitudes of people in authority as well as celebrating ordinary people’s abilities to make light of serious issues.

These two productions are part of MADC’s Playhouse initiative, which is aimed at encouraging people to work in all areas of a production, not just acting.

It also gives less experienced people the chance to gain experience in all aspects of putting on a show and working with more experienced people.

Some of the more seasoned actors taking part include Polly March, Ninette Micallef, Ralph Mangion and Martin Azzopardi.

The productions are taking place on Friday, Saturday and next Sunday at the MADC clubrooms in Sta Venera.

Tickets cost €10 and can be obtained by calling 7979 6232 or by sending an e-mail to info@madc.com.mt.