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THIS WEEK THEATRE maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 SEPTEMBER 2019 4 TEODOR RELJIC speaks to theatre director Michael Fenech of Bla Kondixin fame, who will this season be taking on a more intense variety of satire with Rinoċeronti, a Maltese-language version of the absurdist classic by Eugene Ionesco Teodor Reljic A farcical charge of populist What attracted you to Rinoċeronti, and what are you trying to 'do' with it, given your background and preferred theatrical style/s? I find Ionesco's Rhinoceros to be a very relevant reflec- tion of contemporary society. A major theme in the play is the rise and attractiveness, of global populism. Ionesco is at pains to point out the insidi- ousness of 'not taking sides' and 'all opinions are equal- ly valid'. The play is about conformity and the need to belong. Teatru Malta's pro- duction of the Maltese ver- sion, Rinoċeronti, plays to this strength, in that it treats themes that will immediately resonate with its audience. I have always liked, directed and produced theatre that is relevant and political. My pro- duction Peter Weiss' Marat/ Sade for example brought out the political battle between the individual and the state. Peter Barnes' Auschwitz was about taking responsibility for one's actions, and whether laugh- ter and satire can legitimately be considered as effective po- litical weapons. The Ubu plays were about political greed. Rinoċeronti is both relevant and political, without being preachy. On the contrary, my cast are working hard to pro- vide an evening of entertain- ing theatre that is both visually and intellectually stimulating. The play is often classified as a key example of the Theatre of the Absurd. How would you describe this theatrical genre, and why do you think Eugene Ionesco's classic work fits so neatly within it? In Rhinoceros, Ionesco con- structs a dystopian society that falls to pieces in front of our very eyes during the dura- tion of the play. This is a very common trope in the absurd- ist tradition. Beckett gives us the desert and two hopeful, helpless tramps in 'Waiting for Godot'. The play's hero, Berenger, is also eternally hopeful that the world can be saved, but helpless to stop the devastation around him. The theatre of the absurd feeds on the Existentialist philosophy, a conception of existence in which the world is nonsen- sical, living is a burden, and Man's actions are inconse- quential. Language and con- trol matter less than we would like to believe, but at the end what matters is making per- sonal choices. The Rhinoceros is often read as an allegory for the rise of fascism in the early 20th century, which means that, regrettably, such an interpretation may resonate even today, with the rise of far-right governments all over the globe. Why do you think this remains the most enduring interpretation of the play, and does your take on it tap into that? Yes, Ionesco was prescient in anticipating a return to global populism. Trump and his dangerous clichés, the Brexiteers, and populist poli- ticians with their nostalgia for nationalism, could easily be characters in Rinoċeronti. The play's major strength is that its themes resonate as strongly today as they did when it was originally written. This relevance is what has al- ways attracted me to this par- ticular work. Rinoċeronti is funny, engaging and visually rich, treating important sub- jects with loads of humour. What do you make of the Maltese translation of the work by Clare Azzopardi and Albert Gatt? How do you feel the play will resonate to a Maltese audience, both linguistically and thematically? Clare and Albert have produced an excellent lit- erary translation which is very faithful to the original French. Theirs is the ver- sion that is being published. The language of the original, written in 1959, tends to be rather formal. My adapta- tion attempts to update the play to a contemporary and familiar Malta, and accord- ingly is replete with local and current references. During rehearsals some strategic cuts were made to keep the action flowing and to emphasise the comic element. The themes are what make Rinoċeronti a modern classic. Rinoċeronti can be termed an apocalyptic play, and the- matically is extremely rich. A primary theme is that of per- Michael Fenech