6 Ways This Maltese Show Will Whet Your Appetite
Photos: Emma Micallef
One of the island’s top performing art companies, MADC, is ready to dish out its latest show-stopping play: a new take on David Hare’s Skylight. The show will be premiering on Friday 29th September at the Valletta Campus Theatre. Skylight has won several awards internationally since debuting in 1995 including the Olivier Award for Best Play and a Tony Award Best Revival of a Play.
Still wondering how a play gets your taste buds churning? Here’s what you need to know.
1. It makes for a dramatic MADC entrée
Cheerily clinking its award medals, Skylight broaches a wide range of themes as evidenced by the legacy of the original playwright David Hare, known for his dabblings in socio-political themes.
2. It’s guaranteed to sate your emotional appetite
Kyra, a teacher of underprivileged children, returns home from work one day and is surprised to see Edward, the son of a former lover in her apartment in a London slum. He’s there because hopes she will reconcile with his distraught, now widowed, father. Tom.
A restless, self-made restaurant and hotel tycoon, Tom arrives at the apartment later that evening, unaware of his son’s visit. In the past Kyra was an invaluable business associate and a close family friend, until his wife discovered about an affair Tom and her had been having. Is the gap between them unbridgeable, or can they resurrect their relationship?
3. There will be live cooking onstage
You read that correctly. Skylight is dripping with references to the culinary world, including Tom’s profession as a restaurateur, and Kyra’s onstage cooking of meals; a literal feast for the senses.
4. The show heralds a new chef in town
MADC’s latest play marks the directorial debut of André Agius, who elegantly blends the talents of lead actors Stephen Oliver, Simone Spiteri and Alex Weenink. “I describe the play as raw, relevant and human,” Mr Agius explained. “[…] The topics and discussions that are thrown around the play’s apartment setting are still pertinent to today’s society, leading one to question if anything has really changed and if we have progressed forward from that time.”
5. It’ll give you a chance to quench your thirst for theatre
Skylight‘s Notte Bianca performance will include a complimentary drink and a post-production Q&A for interested theatre-goers.
6. It’s all coming together in one massive, delicious performance
Actor and setting go hand-in-hand, and Mr Agius has heeded this well. “I know that a performance is only as good as the people working on it and thus, I was determined to have people come on board that I trust and who share the same vision that I have for the play.”
With set designs by Thomas Camilleri and photography by Ritty Tacsum, it seems Skylight is set to dazzle.
Tickets are now available at www.madc.com.mt; tickets for the premiere night will be sold at a reduced price.