If just 10 years ago you had told the average citizen of Malta that in 2008 a drama company would have the audacity to put on a play about male genitalia, you'd have been laughed out of the room. But yes, it's happening - and in the Maltese language, at that! What is the world coming to? And wouldn't you know it, the play in question, Minn Wara Iż-Żipp, is being produced by Adrian Buckle's cutting-edge theatre company Unifaun at the Manoel Theatre. Actually this is both Unifaun's first production at our national theatre and also its first presentation in Maltese.
Trevor Zahra's play Minn Wara Iż-Żipp could perhaps be described as a male version of The Vagina Monologues. In fact Mr Zahra describes it thus: "(The piece) sways between play and monologue (and) is strictly aimed at an adult audience. Minn Wara Iż-Żipp tries to investigate the relationship between man and his beloved sexual organ - and the different phases of such a relationship. The fears of childhood, the anxieties of adolescence, the passions of youth, chauvinism, myths, adulthood, and finally the acceptance of old age."
Mr Zahra is of course a very distinguished member of our literary fraternity, so this is obviously a work to be taken seriously and certainly not dismissed as a piece of frivolous porn. Mr Zahra is probably best known for his children's books, but he has also been writing for adults since the early 1970s. Along the way he has collected several prestigious literary awards.
He adds to his description of Minn Wara Iż-Żipp: "It is an immensely humorous script, touched nonetheless with pathos and tension." The play has a fine cast, combining the talents of Jean Pierre Busuttil, Snits, Sean Briffa and Renato Dimech.
It will be produced by Adrian Buckle for Unifaun and directed by Unifaun's premier director Chris Gatt.
Tickets for Minn Wara Iż-Żipp can be obtained from the Manoel Theatre booking office, telephone: 2124 6389. or by e-mailbookings@teatrumanoel.com.mt.
Trevor Zahra's play Minn Wara Iż-Żipp could perhaps be described as a male version of The Vagina Monologues. In fact Mr Zahra describes it thus: "(The piece) sways between play and monologue (and) is strictly aimed at an adult audience. Minn Wara Iż-Żipp tries to investigate the relationship between man and his beloved sexual organ - and the different phases of such a relationship. The fears of childhood, the anxieties of adolescence, the passions of youth, chauvinism, myths, adulthood, and finally the acceptance of old age."
Mr Zahra is of course a very distinguished member of our literary fraternity, so this is obviously a work to be taken seriously and certainly not dismissed as a piece of frivolous porn. Mr Zahra is probably best known for his children's books, but he has also been writing for adults since the early 1970s. Along the way he has collected several prestigious literary awards.
He adds to his description of Minn Wara Iż-Żipp: "It is an immensely humorous script, touched nonetheless with pathos and tension." The play has a fine cast, combining the talents of Jean Pierre Busuttil, Snits, Sean Briffa and Renato Dimech.
It will be produced by Adrian Buckle for Unifaun and directed by Unifaun's premier director Chris Gatt.
Tickets for Minn Wara Iż-Żipp can be obtained from the Manoel Theatre booking office, telephone: 2124 6389. or by e-mailbookings@teatrumanoel.com.mt.