Ovid’s epic poem Metamorphoses, consisting of over 250 episodes chronicling the multiple facets of erotic love, has been influencing playwrights for centuries since it was published in AD 8. It has, however, rarely (if ever) been adapted for the local theatre. It was therefore a bold and wise move for Adrian Buckle, founder of Unifaun Theatre, to adapt a selection of the stories from such a timeless classic into Maltese as part of this year’s Malta Arts Festival.

The text of the adaptation, masterfully translated into Maltese by Trevor Zahra, successfully captured the lyrical quality of the poem in a very accessible manner that was, in the main, very well delivered by the cast. The cast were coached in the delivery of the text by well known actor Dominic Said, who co-directed the piece and must be complimented for bringing great clarity to the storytelling. Stage direction was in the hands of the established actor/director Stephen Oliver who directed the piece with a strong visual emphasis that helped the audience keep its attention throughout the two-hour show despite the episodic nature of the piece. The flow between scenes was kept tight and the actors seemed very confident despite the very limited time for rehearsal with the unorthodox and challenging stage. Moreover, the brevity of the individual stories meant that the actors were afforded very little time within which to build their characters and it is to their and Oliver’s credit that most of the storytelling was so effective.

Most of the cast played multiple roles and showed great skill in shifting rapidly from one character to another

Much has been written about the staging of this production which takes place entirely in and around a pool of water specifically constructed for the piece and designed by Romualdo Moretti. The pool certainly gave the production a strong visual element, and together with Oliver’s lighting design, gave a number of scenes (particularly the more violent scenes) an interesting twist that would have been lost without the aquatic element. Moreover, the water element linked the stories back to their roots in the natural world and added a strong sensual aspect to the actors’ appearance and movement.

The water element linked the stories back to their roots in the natural world and added a strong sensual aspect to the actors’ appearance and movement.

Most of the cast played multiple roles and showed great skill in shifting rapidly from one character to another. The only exception to this was the very talented young actor Jamie Cardona, who solely played the mischievous god, Cupid. Cupid acts as both a narrator and an agent provocateur; he sadistically enjoys the hurt left in the wake of unrequited love and at times even aids and abets the perpetrators of rape. The acting of the rest of cast was similarly of a very high standard, with notable mentions going out to Magda von Kuilenburg, Stephen Mintoff and Julia Camilleri.

Given the Malta Arts Festival commission, Buckle may have had to tone down his usual penchant for shock value in this production. Yet he has wisely chosen a classic that still managed to sa­tisfy Unifaun audiences by producing a slick yet offbeat show.

I personally felt that the evening would have benefited from tackling fewer stories and eliminating the interval, which interrupted the surreal atmosphere that the cast had so skilfully evoked.