MADC is this weekend presenting Neil Simon’s California Suite, a witty show that deals with the themes of marriage, regret, infidelity and the pitfalls of fame, among others. These are presented in four comedic shorts that all play out in a luxury hotel suite.

Each short has its own storyline: In Visitor from New York, a divorced couple argue over custody of their daughter, while in Visitor from Philadelphia, a man wakes up to a comatose prostitute and his wife about to arrive. Next up, in Visitors from London, an actress frets over her Oscar nomination and her doomed marriage, while, in Visitors from Chicago, two couples end a disastrous vacation that they really should not have shared to begin with.

The plays, each 30 minutes long, are directed by Justin Kyle Camilleri and Joe Depasquale.

“California Suite was an obvious choice for us to direct for a variety of reasons,” say the duo, “chiefly that it is written by Simon, who is considered one of the world’s funniest playwrights.

“Outside America, most of his work tends to get overshadowed by The Odd Couple, which is his most famous play, so we felt it was time to introduce audiences to another one of his works and preferably something which hadn’t already been staged locally.”

The cast includes Stefan Cachia Zammit, Maria Pia Meli, Taryn Mamo Cefai, Edward Caruana Galizia, Jovan Pisani and Christine Borg.

California Suite is being staged from today to  Sunday at the MADC Playhouse, Santa Venera, at 8pm. For tickets, log on to www.madc.com.mt.