In the run-up to his theatre production Għajn Eye Three, Simon Bartolo talks to Sandra Aquilina about the importance of seeing in more than one way how teenagers can be wiser than adults – and how writing can be a substitute for fighting.

Simon Bartolo. Photo: Lisa Falzon

A ghost child, four squabbling teachers, a school mystery, secret fears locked away in a basement – Simon Bartolo’s Għajn Eye Three might have a light and humorous touch, but it also makes for a gripping narrative.

It also touches on some pretty serious matter – death, the supernatural, homo-sexuality, identity and self-acceptance, the gap between the public and private, loss...

These are all themes that tend to recur in Bartolo’s writing as readers of his Fiddien trilogy and audiences of Jien Inħobb, Inti Tħobb can attest.

The decision is not conscious, he says. “I guess these are themes that interest and preoccupy me. My view of each one shifts and develops as I grow older and more mature.”

Ignorance and prejudice tend to anger and sadden him so he admires people who are very public in their defence of human and animal rights: “I’m not really much of a fighter.”

Ironically, this is what spurs him on. “What inspires me to deal with these themes is a commitment to my own beliefs and a fear that I’m not really doing enough. By putting my thoughts in the words of my characters I’m purging myself of the thoughts that keep me awake at night.”

But it is not that simple. As a writer, he has to explore opposing viewpoints, forcing him to look at an issue from various angles.

“I would say that in order to write a piece I have to gather a well-rounded view of each situation and this obviously makes me, as a human being, see many sides of an argument.”

Issues of empathy and understanding are central to Għajn Eye Three. The title refers to the concept of seeing – in more than one way. All the characters, in fact, hide secret dilemmas.

But, in an interesting twist, the awkward, gay, troubled and bullied characters are not students, but teachers. And it is the teenager who enlightens the four adults and their struggle for acceptance, rather than the other way round.

“I believe that children possess a wisdom that is not really understood by adults. They notice things that our brains are too complicated to pick on,” says Bartolo. By reversing the stereotype, he could raise issues in new ways.

“The idea of a poor bullied gay schoolboy has already been done to death. So why not reverse it and have a teacher be gay and a student – or the ghost of a student – telling him it’s okay?

“Ultimately, I didn’t want to create the classic gay character that the audience would feel sorry for, because in my opinion it is symptomatic of a new, perhaps milder form of prejudice.”

In an interesting twist, the awkward, gay, troubled and bullied characters are not students, but teachers

That is why he created a character who is feisty and outspoken, but also bitchy and funny.

“We laugh with him and we laugh at him, but not because he’s gay, that’s just one of his traits. I want the young people who come to see my play to understand that humans are complex beings. Nobody is just gay or black or short or whatever. Each one of us is made up of several qualities, some are good and some aren’t.”

Was he afraid that this might cause offence?

“I think I show enough respect for my characters that I can give them negative qualities and poke fun at them without offending anyone. Or maybe I simply offend everyone. The audience will have to judge for itself, I guess.”

Still, criticism clearly does not floor him. When the appointed director dismissed the text as potentially offensive, Bartolo promptly stepped in and filled the director’s chair himself.

Originally presented as part of ŻiguŻajg festival, the play garnered positive reviews. Its representation will include some significant differences.

Edward Mercieca – who originally played Mr Gass – is being ably replaced by Gilbert Formosa. “I have also rewritten the third final part of the play, because I felt it was somewhat preachy and too safe. It is a little darker and more daring. And also funnier.”

As a writer and former teacher, Bartolo is no stranger to teenage issues. He spent several years teaching at post-secondary level before he left for Luxembourg to work as a translator. His bilingual childhood prepared him well for his current profession.

“I grew up in Cospicua during the 1970s and used to play with the other children in the streets. At the same time, I went to St Joseph’s School in Blata l-Bajda – it wasn’t only for girls back then – where Maltese was not allowed.

“I remember having to write 100 lines ‘I must not speak Maltese at school’ almost every evening. In the meantime, I was called kiesaħ and tal-pepé if I uttered a word in English with my friends back home. So I grew up with this ambivalent linguistic nature. I had to develop a sense of what to say in which language according to context very early in life, because I knew I’d be ostracised from one group or the other if I didn’t conform.”

Apart from translating, Bartolo spends most of his time writing and at the moment is busily working on several new projects.

His theatre group Aleateia has just been selected for ŻiguŻajg 2015 with a new pro-ject: The Drooming. He is also working with a couple of talented young actors on a two-hander. And then, there’ll be a new play for adults which will be produced by Fondazzjoni Aventura in spring next year. Meanwhile, he is working on two new novels and a picture book in Maltese about a little black fish for the youngest readers.

It’s a heady mix – novels and plays, teenage and adult – then again, Bartolo revels in viewpoints, contrasts and new ways of seeing. “I guess that, in a nutshell, this is why I love being a writer. It makes me understand people, though not necessarily agree with them.”

Għajn Eye Three runs at St James Cavalier, Valletta, between April 11 and 12.

www.sjcav.org