As actress Simone Spiteri prepares for her comeback, she tells Iggy Fenech why she needed a break from theatre and why she couldn’t refuse a role in MADC’s upcoming adaptation of Skylight.
It’s been almost 10 years since I first saw Simone Spiteri on the stage – and I still remember it very vividly. In fact, it was that adaption of the legendary Greek play Medea, staged at MITP, that sparked my interest in theatre.
Of course, Simone had been on the scene way before that and has, over the years, taken part in countless plays, including Appuntamenti (which she wrote and directed), Marid Immaġinarju, and Twelfth Night. But then, in 2015, she decided to go on a break.
“I was pretty burnt out so, for the most part, I spent my time resting and learning how to slow down – bar a small part in The Price of One last year,” she says.
“My writing exploded, though. In fact, I never took a hiatus from that but, as a result, I could focus exclusively on it without having to split my attention between producing, acting, writing and directing.
“Other than that, I basically learnt to live and enjoy life without being held hostage by a rehearsal schedule breathing down my neck. Which, by the age of 32, I had never experienced. My whole adult life since my teens had always been dictated by the punishing and rigorous demands of theatre life and it was a breath of fresh air – and slightly unsettling at first too – to just go about doing normal things like going out to dinner with friends without having to consult my rehearsal plan and a long list of related deadlines.”
Now, after two years being away from the stage, Simone is returning with a bang in MADC’s maiden play for the 2017-2018 schedule: an adaptation of David Hare’s award-winning, socio-political play, Skylight, which is being directed by André Agius.
Asking her what it was about Skylight that compelled her to break her two-year hiatus, she pinpoints three things immediately. The first is that, even after nine months since she first read the script, she still finds new ways of interpreting it. “It’s like an onion – which is quite fitting, really, as I chop and cook plenty of them in this play – you think you know what it’s about then discover a new, hidden and subtle layer you wouldn’t have noticed in previous reads,” she says.
The second, is that it’s a two-hander type of play, meaning that Simone and her co-star, Stephen Oliver (who will be playing the role of Tom), will be on stage for a whole two hours. “This was one of my actor-bucket-list items to tick off and this is the perfect play for that!” she adds.
And, thirdly, the young director’s enthusiasm, who, in Simone’s words, has brought in a fresh, raw and giddy sense of excitement to the project.
“I thought it was very refreshing to work with someone who, though still starting out as a director, is clearly fully committed to his ideas and vision... His excitement and earnestness are infectious!”
Alex Weenink will be joining Simone and Stephen on stage to complete the trio of characters that make up the Skylight universe – one which was written as a reaction to post-Thatcherite Britain.
“I’ve never played a character like Kyra,” Simone explains. “She’s very complex and difficult to pin down. The stamina the two main actors in this play need is incredible and after an absence of a few years, it takes double the effort to get rid of the rust and tap back into the rhythm of things though, in reality, it was very much like riding a bike.”
The story of Skylight starts when Kyra, a teacher of underprivileged children, returns home to find Edward, the son of her former lover. As the son tries to persuade Kyra to reconcile with his father (a self-made restaurant and hotel tycoon), the father also shows up reopening a can of worms about territory, politics and passion that had been closed and put away years before.
“We started rehearsing during the most brutal of the four heatwaves we’ve had this summer at the start of August, so it was pretty challenging to be tackling such intense material while melting at the same time.
“Thankfully, André is a very well-prepared director who has clearly done his homework and leaves no stone unturned. He is also very collaborative and generous with us actors and, in this play, he has taken a very open approach to how things progress and develop, especially with Stephen and myself. We discuss pretty much every step of the way and come to a decision concerning our characters and where the scene is going together.”
Skylight, however, is more than just your typical play, particularly as the sense of smell is used to transport audiences into the very heart of where the play takes place in the script: the kitchen. Moreover, its award-winning script, written in 1995, has become a timeless classic thanks to the universal subjects it tackles.
“This is a play about how relationships and ideals make us vulnerable, messy, cowardly, hopeful, hard-headed… In other words, human. And I think the greatness of this play lies in the fact that everyone watching it will, at some point, think: Yes, I’ve done that! Yes, I’ve felt that! Yes, I know exactly what that means!”
Simone has, reportedly, been telling the rest of the cast members that her hiatus will resume on October 9 – the day after Skylight closes. She may only be saying that semi-jokingly though, as she’s adamant not to return to the hectic pace she once had… Even so, with the 15th anniversary of Dù Theatre – her theatre company – just two years away, as well as multiple writings that have never been staged, chances are we’ll be seeing her back on stage rather soon!
MADC’s adaptation of David Hare’s Skylight will take place at the Valletta Campus Theatre (ex-MITP) between September 29 and October 8. For further information or tickets, visit www.madc.com.mt.