What do Molière’s Don Juan, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series and E. L. James’s trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey have in common? They all deal with the idea of ‘vampires’; of dominant men who live off the flesh of women.
In a fast-and-furious series of dramatic moments, peppered with some of Moliere’s funniest comedy, this play continues to infuriate and fascinate
Legendary libertine Don Juan has a lot in common with the two contemporary blockbusters mentioned above. He is the quintessential anti-hero who attracts and repulses in equal measure and who lives in the dark outer reaches of society.
Don Juan’s story is steeped in blood. He has left a trail of seduced and abandoned women, killed a commandant, and has a total hatred of things religious. He is in effect a creature of the night.
Is it any wonder therefore that Don Juan, Moliere’s most popular play, is regularly performed around the world?
The latest incarnation of this man-beast takes centre stage this weekend as part of the Manoel Theatre’s International Baroque Festival. This production, directed by Chris Gatt, takes a very contemporary look at Don Juan, presenting him as a popular, cocaine-snorting deejay, who travels around Europe, seducing any girl he finds along the way.
In a fast-and-furious series of dramatic moments, peppered with some of Molière’s funniest comedy, this play continues to infuriate and fascinate, as Molière lashes out at the hypocrisy of a so-called civil society which condemns Don Juan for his actions while hiding its own equally horrible deeds behind a veneer of politeness.
The play, translated and adapted in Maltese by poet and novelist Immanuel Mifsud, will be performed in Maltese with English surtitles (subtitles which will be projected onto the set).
Jes Camilleri is the vampiric Don Juan, while Pierre Stafrace is his unlucky man servant Sganarelle, forced to ditch principle for ugly pragmatism as he feeds his master’s insatiable appetite for women, including the just married Donna Elvira, played by Coryse Borg. Manuel Cauchi is both Don Juan’s disapproving father as well as the terrifying Stone Guest invited to dine at Don Juan’s house.
The cast also includes Franica Pulis, Aaron Fenech, Claudio Carta, Daniel Azzopardi, James Sultana, Magdalena van Kuilenburg and Marisa Aquilina.
The set for this performance has been designed by Romualdo Moretti while Christine Tong is stage manager. Video projections are by Martin Bonnici (Shadeena Films) and Winston Degiorgio, while Michaeal Quinton and Spooky Monkey provided the tranced-up baroque music.
• Don Juan is being performed this Saturday and Sunday at 7.30pm. Tickets may be obtained at www.teatrumanoel.com.mt or www.vallettabaroquefestival.com.mt, by phone on 2124 6388 or by e-mail: bookings@teatrumanoel.com. Students under 25 and KartaAnzjan holders get a 50 per cent discount.