On Sunday, February 24, I went to the Manoel Theatre for the first edition of L-Istaġun tat-Teatru Malti. I was accompanied by some friends and we were hoping to enjoy ourselves for a couple of hours. But we were utterly disappointed, to say the least.

The title was quite promising – L-Indemonjati u Maltin Oħra – but the language and the gestures during the performance were really offensive. There was not one Maltese rude gesture or Maltese offensive expression that was not included.

Have we come to the stage when we expect the Maltese theatre-goers to be entertained with such a pastażata, such rudeness? To us it seemed nothing less than that.

I noticed that some of the well-known actors avoided using this kind of language and for this they are to be commended. In one particular instance, one actress actually mentioned the names of God and Our Lady in a profane way.

Most of the people present were middle-aged and I am sure we were not the only ones who felt this way about the show. We paid money to be entertained but we were disappointed most of the time