Debuting a day before Women’s Day, John Baraldi’s dynamic new political play Apotheosis tells the life story of Malta’s first female prime minister.

The theatre I love most makes me think. I greatly believe in the power of theatre to do that – to make us question, contemplate, discuss and even provoke. I find I am rarely happier than with a mug of tea in hand, post-show, chatting endlessly about a play I have seen, its context, and – crucially – its message.

So it is with that in mind that I have long been looking forward to the upcoming piece Apotheosis – a play by John Baraldi that presents Malta’s first female prime minister, Dolores (played by Angele Galea).

Dolores is a political outcast and deemed by many to be a traitor. Now, alone in her home at the end of her career and life, she is writing her tell-all memoirs in the hope that her revelations will shake the political establishment to its foundations. She is under police protection as a result of the many threats she has received on her life.

Some would argue it is a controversial piece, while others would say it is simply a reaction to our times. Baraldi penned the show a while back, and then knew he had to bring the piece to stage when Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered in October 2017. Director Marc Cabourdin also felt its importance, and joined the project in June last year.

 “I was drawn to it as a result of conversations and observations I had with John over a number of years, so I was already involved without really knowing it,” he explains. “I was then very excited by the prospect of it being a truly contemporary piece of theatre for Malta in Malta, and also by its incredible and importantsocial context.”

Asked about how the play has evolved in that time, Cabourdin is quick to say that, in many ways, it has remained. “It has always been so alive,” he says. “However, the nuances and specific emotional input of the character through the actor has given the piece a new lease of life. Bringing an actor on board made the words come to life. But, in turn, those words and that life had to be given a truth that is only real to the actor in playing such a part.”

If Dolores were a John, would her actions be given the same weight in judgement?

But while I am quick to ask how he thinks the audience will take the piece, Cabourdin stresses it is not the team’s responsibility to affect anyone or anything – but to put a mirror up to society. He describes Dolores as a fully-rounded human being that has gone through 80 years of existence; somebody who started from the bottom and found herself at the pinnacle of things.

“The fact that she was Malta’s first female prime minister, and the fact that she had to do this in a very male-dominated society, as well as a conservative society, sheds light not on her actions, but on the obstacles she faced. Because even though the play deals with social economic realities as well as political community realities, Dolores had to navigate the treacherous waters of her political and professional life with the handicap of not having a penis.”

With all of this in mind, Cabourdin believes it is the integrity of the piece that is most important – and its message of how one holds onto their integrity. To him, though, it is also the tragedy of the play that is crucial – a play that questions whether compromise and integrity are mutually exclusive to each other, and how one can juggle one with the other.

Galea was chosen for her generosity, vulnerability and strong sense of purpose, which enables her to capture the world and essence of Dolores.

“Can you follow such a higher calling without having to bend?” he asks. “That’s a key question. And, in a sense, this makes the piece very universal, because it is universal to man and not gender specific.”

But what he says that makes it all the more interesting and violent in scope is that these are all choices and decisions, as well as the hunger and goals of a woman in power. “So what makes it interesting is wondering how we judge her – by a universal value and truth? Or by a gender truth? What I mean here is that, if Dolores were a John, would her actions be given the same weight in judgment? This is what the piece does not shy away from. Because Dolores is not being portrayed as a saint or martyr, but as a human being.”

Taking on this extremely complex part is Galea – an actress Cabourdin chose for her generosity, vulnerability and strong sense of purpose, which he says enables her to capture the world and essence of Dolores. “She is meticulous, specific and concise, just as you’d want a person of authority and leadership to be. She also brings a strong wealth of humanity and context to the role at hand.

“Adding anything more might come across as being as over-awed by her work, but she has truly been an asset and a great team player,” he says.

Clearly – and with all of this considered – Apotheosis is a piece that needs to be seen. “Political theatre ought to have a role on a cultural landscape in spite of contemporary issues. From Greek tragedies to present-day Oscar-winning movies, most pieces are moved and defined by political issues. Malta ought not to be different, and especially given the present state of current global affairs.

“Looking towards the legacy of the piece, it would be very presumptuous of me to think beyond the next few weeks, since we are still curating and creating it together. However, I hope it won’t remain a one-off, stand-alone piece. I hope that, from a production-point-of-view, Apotheosis will keep on growing and reaching wider audiences, as well as engaging with a younger audience and theatre-goer so they can be inspired to create new pieces of art that inform as well as create a dialogue with their contemporary surroundings and realities,” Cabourdin adds. “And we definitely hope to have sparked an interesting conversation!”

Apotheosis will be performed at Spazju Kreattiv from Thursday to next Sunday, and from March 14 to 17 at 8pm, with a matinee performance on Wednesday, March 13 at 2pm. Ticket prices start at €10. For bookings, visit www.kreattivita.org. A number of workshops are also being organised.

The outreach and education programme of this project has been funded by the Small Initiatives Support Scheme (SIS), managed by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector (MCVS). This project reflects the views only of the author and the MCVS cannot be held responsible for the content or any use which may be made of the information contained therein.