Chiara’s Vulgar Trip To The Nunnery And Its Impressively Feminist Undertones
Goosebumps were guaranteed in a show that combines some of the biggest female voices in the business, but the constant feminist undertones that played out throughout the musical were an unexpected bonus.
Il-Ħanina Maddalena is an original Maltese musical that ran for nine days at Pjazza Teatru Rjal, where the audience relived the raw, authentic stories of Valletta’s residents in the final years of the Knights’ rule in Malta.
Despite having an actual, spell-flinging witch on stage, the real villains of the show were literally all the men, who went out of their way to make as many people as possible lead miserable lives.
From Valletta’s then-archbishop (whose obsession with Eve being the mother of all sin bordered on neurotic), to the Grandmaster himself (who locked his lover away in a convent after she had his child), a little bit of hocus-pocus pales in comparison to these evils.
Chiara as the nunniest nun of them all; Photo: Viktor Vella / Festivals Malta
One of the first things that stood out to those watching was the unabashedly-authentic language used by the people on the street, a refreshing change to the usual skirting of vulgarities.
It may be a case of better late than never, but Malta in 2018 is finally getting prostitutes who laugh at the idea of being called ‘sinjura’ and speak as boorishly as they please.
The next, obvious take away (and perhaps a little more inspirational than the stream of obscenities) was the hard work all women had to go through to assert their place in society, and how quick they were to help each other out.
From Chiara’s motherly Mother Superior, to the three main ladies of the night having each others’ back despite constant bickering, women in those days may not have had official authority, but they certainly knew how to stand by those they cared for.
Amber as Serafina; Photo: Viktor Vella / Festivals Malta
From a technical standpoint it comes as no surprise that the singing was phenomenal. Chiara’s voice carried through angelically, and despite some initial skepticism about the acting involved in the part, she pulled through admirably on that front too.
Amber, who played the show’s Sicilian witch, managed to sing her verses with a haunting twang that avoided the usual occultist pitfall of verging on the comical. Leontine Spiteri’s appearance was brief but powerful, and Dorothy Bezzina’s voice carried so much raw emotion the entire audience was stunned into silence even before she hit full resonance on her big belts.
An emotional moment between Chiara’s, Dorothy Bezzina’s and Rachel Tedesco Triccas’ characters; Photo: Viktor Vella / Festivals Malta
Ironically, despite the female empowerment coming through clearly in the subtext, parts of the play’s scripting didn’t represent that message too clearly, with the second half of the musical’s pacing coming across as a little rushed.
A lot of the knights’ on-stage wobbling and drunken laughter could have been trimmed to allow for a neater development of the last-second lesbian love interest that ended as abruptly as it started. The long-winded speeches by the archbishop could have been cut short to give time for Amber’s character to earn a little more redemption from the crowds.
And while the open ending adds an air of mystery to the whole thing, a little closure on some smaller details would have gone a long way.
A night at the tavern; Photo: Viktor Vella / Festivals Malta
Il-Ħanina Maddalena was written by Simon Bartolo with lyrics by Lorraine Vella and music by Domnic Galea. It was directed by Josette Ciappara and choreographed by Diane Portelli and Dorian Mallia.
While its run has ended, if you ever get the opportunity to watch some resurrected performance, it’s totally not one to be missed.
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