Theatre
Mixja Fid-Dlam
St James Cavalier

Mixja Fid-Dlam is a tight little drama written by Mario Micallef and directed by Żep Camilleri. It revisits a dark scenario that, though as old as Euripides, has the undying guarantee to grab an audience.

Although it has its fair share of soap melodrama, one has to admit the play manages to sustain a tensed-up level of intensity- Carmel Serracino

The author himself stars as Albert, a 60-year-old businessman and self-declared bachelor, who has now, in spite of his convictions, taken a beautiful woman, 30 years his junior, as his wife (Tanya, played by Moira Muscat).

It seems like he has fallen into a bed of roses until a chance meeting at a coffee shop with his old friend Tonio (Ray Abdilla) dashes all his ideals of a happy marriage to the ground. Unwittingly, Tonio poisons Albert’s mind with thoughts of matrimonial betrayal that irrevocably awaits the sexagenarian. I will not be divulging any of the plot’s secrets by stating that tragedy must strike by the end of the night.

Although it has its fair share of soap melodrama, one has to admit the play manages to sustain a tensed-up level of intensity to the final dénouement that even holds a couple of unexpected twists.

However, watching the play on its opening night, I felt that Mr Camilleri keeps this intensity slightly too concentrated and too unrelenting for the pieces’ own good, affording the audience very few moments of respite to catch a breath in the unfolding tragedy.

A bristling tension is already filling the opening coffee shop scene where both male actors get so emotional in the heat of the argument that they need to leave their chairs in the middle of their speeches and walk about the table.

I thought the theatricality of this action very unrealistic, especially since I never observed someone doing that in real-life.

One of the interests of watching this play must be the metamorphosis endured by the character of Albert from a confident man feeling satisfied with the world, to a miserable wretch racked with mental and bodily torment.

It is a tour de force for an actor that combines an Oedipal determination for bringing one’s own ruin and the obstinate jealousies of Othello. Perhaps Mr Micallef, in his downfall, resorts too much to a whimpering tone of voice, which admittedly the actor can typically use with remarkable ease and effect.

In the second act, Mr Micallef has a lot of acting-time seated on a sofa whose back was facing my seat, which thus prevented me from having a good view of his face.

However, I am glad I was able to witness Mr Micallef’s last entrance for which he managed to conjure up an almost ghastly demeanour. His best moment in the play came earlier, in a scene with Ms Muscat where her moving confession of what had made her marry a much older man has a totally reversed and undesired affect on her husband. Here, Mr Micallef seemed to be really struggling against an intangible looming darkness in a scene that not only portends the real darkness to come but also discloses the first horrible cracks that irreversibly wreck a relationship.

The pivotal role receives able support from Ms Muscat and Mr Abdilla. Ms Muscat succeeds in making of Tanya one of those women whose life-experiences give them an outwardly strong and determined personality but who can be very vulnerable nonetheless.

It is to the credit of the actress (and of the director, or course) that, similarly to Albert, we are in continuous doubt about Tanya’s integrity.

Despite her Desdemona-like tearful plea for devotional loyalty, we fear we could well be dealing with a devastating femme fatale.

Despite his advancing age, Mr Abdilla has not only managed to retain amazingly young looks and figure, but also the quivering sense of energy that still makes his staggering role in the televised edition of Diacono’s L-Ewwel Jien in the 1980s very fresh in my mind. Although at times verging on the histrionic, I tended to miss his strong presence when away from the stage.

The well-timed sound effects and the moody luscious music reminded me of Hollywood black and white films-noir and significantly added to the tension of this production that should appeal to the drama-loving audience.

• Mixja fid-Dlam is also being staged on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.