Theatre
Bogħod Mill-Għajn
Manoel Theatre
Circumstances beyond the control of ordinary human beings at times lead them to make personal decisions which might not only affect their lives but also those of their loved ones.
The threat of war, of impending change to a way of life which is no longer sustainable and that is exacerbated by political animosity and divided loyalties was the backdrop of Vincent Vella’s play, set in Malta during World War II.
Bogħod Mill-Għajn, staged last weekend deals with the actions of a family and their immediate friends whose choices have repercussions beyond the 1940s and well into the future – with some scenes taking place 35 years later in 1975.
University student Davide’s father, an Italian sympathiser, like the rest of his family is arrested and interned first in Malta and later in Uganda and as the events ensue, the rest of Davide’s family and their associates rally around, tingeing the already terrible situation in a war-ravaged country with personal plight.
The war setting serves as a mere backdrop for what is mainly a family piece which deals with the opposition between generations and explores how their varying points of view can lead to irreparable consequences. To keep her son safe and ensure that he is not deported, Ersilja, played sensitively by Nadine Abela in a strong portrayal of a mother in conflict with the world, acts as an informant for the British intelligence services on the island and exposes the greater part of the Maltese upper classes who had Italian sympathies.
She also asks for the transfer of a young English nurse, Beth, played by an earnest Jo Caruana, away from the island to put a stop to her relationship with André Penza’s Davide. Her motivations are a mixture of political preferences and misguided motherly affection.
While she asks for constant advice from her friend, Dr Debattista, the lawyer, played by a mature John Suda, her brother Amadeo, a staunch Italian supporter portrayed credibly by Renato Dimech, keeps getting into trouble with the authorities and their ever-patient and loyal maid – the prim Lonza, interpreted by Michelle Zerafa, attempts to keep the household running smoothly, whose older version as a grandmother in 1975, was not as convincing as the young Lonza.
I actually enjoy scripts written with a bilingual audience in mind because it makes them all the more credible, however this was perhaps one of the redeeming features of the script itself, which, by director Alan Fenech’s own admission in the programme notes is much more akin to a film or television script.
Such a script usually relies heavily on close-ups and mid-shots which a standard theatrical experience with a proscenium stage does not permit. Also, the dialogue felt stilted and slow-paced in such an environment, making the action appear heavy despite clever attempts at filling in the gaps by chronologically cutting the missing scenes from the first act and filling them in during the second act.
What also appeared pointless to the plot was a repeated scene set in 1975 at Ersilja’s deathbed – during which she begs a much older Davide, now played by a rather subdued Stefan Farrugia to seek the lawyer’s advice regarding her will and final papers. I found that one of the biggest problems was in understanding what was actually being said at certain points. André Penza’s diction lacked clarity and there were times when I strained to listen – as mostly a television actor, he would do well to work on his projection because on stage there is no sound editing to be relied upon. This appeared all the more marked when contrasted with Ms Zerafa’s, Ms Abela’s and Mr Suda’s strong and well-delivered lines.
Mr Fenech made good use of Ray Farrugia’s set to create intimacy in moments which required it, thanks also to effective lighting, from scene to scene, which however, took too long to change and often left lulls in an already slow-paced piece. To use TV terminology, it felt rather like pause-rewind in certain cases and the redemptive scenes were those which picked up the pace and could be clearly understood such as the Ersilja’s questioning by Paul Barnes’s solid colonel – a part that was very well executed – at the British headquarters.
Davide and Beth’s meeting beneath a lamppost, where Ms Caruana’s pace gave it some much-needed flow, the interaction between Ersilja, Lonza and the lawyer was also credible. The final scene where all is revealed to the older Davide by the lawyer and which finally did require the pathos they gave it, provided a good ending. This was where pathos was rightly used as it had seemed rather overwhelming before, as it controlled too many of the scenes at the expense of the pace which is required to make the continuity of such an achronological piece gripping.
Based on the Maltese saying “bogħod mill-għajn, bogħod mill-qalb” the play’s title did not only refer to Ersilja’s deal with the colonel to keep Davide and Beth from each other, but also referred to the many suppressed emotions that a situation like the war forces us from coming to terms with. In a valiant attempt at exposing these emotions, Bogħod Mill-Għajn allowed the audience to glance, albeit in detached segments, at a life that was and the regrets at what it could have been.
Correction
In last week’s review of Masquerade’s performance of Cloud Busting, the class bully Alex was convincingly played by Luke Galea, not Luke Vella as inadvertently stated. The error is regretted.