Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1208901
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 9 FEBRUARY 2020 5 THIS WEEK THEATRE say is the nub of this particu- lar drama, and what do you hope the audience will get out of it? Members of the audience might be surprised at the un- canny parallels with what hap- pened in Malta these past few weeks where most of us want- ed to move on from a ghastly murder but we were made to realise that there can be no healing of the wound unless the entire truth came out. The same has happened to Martina and Stephanie. A part of them longs to move on and forget but another part knows that they will never return to normality unless the truth is revealed. On the other hand, those who love theatre for its more artistic aspect might be struck by the sudden shift between reality and hypothesis. How do you feel about Lee-N Abela taking on the directori- al reins for this project? All my full length plays have been directed by different di- rectors. Michael Fenech direct- ed Ir-Rewwixta tal-Qassisin in 1986 and 2005, Immanuel Mifsud directed Ippermettili Nitlaq in 2008, Dwar Meno- pawsi, minorenni u muturi high speed was directed by Malcolm Galea in 2012 and Mela hawn xi Manikomju?! was directed by Tyrone Grima in 2016. So as you can see, even if this play hadn't been about two women, it was high time I had a wom- an directing my play. From the start I wanted Lee-N Abela to direct it. She has always been extremely enthusiastic about it. Over the years she has prov- en herself to be an artist full of energy and ideas. I'm sure that, just as I have always been pleasantly surprised by my di- rectors' interpretations of my works, I will be thrilled by hers. What do you make of the cast, and what do you hope they will bring to your text? I feel really lucky that Teatru- Malta managed to cast Angele Galea and Clare Aguis for the leads. Angele was involved in my last four plays, three times as an actress and once as a set designer. I am also happy that Clare Agius is making her the- atrical comeback with this play. I couldn't be more delighted to have these two versatile and talented actresses and I'm sure they will transform the text in- to a lasting experience for the audience. What do you make of the local theatrical scene? What would you change about it? In recent years theatre in Malta has widened its audi- ence base. There are more in- dependent theatre companies who are willing to experiment and with the founding of Te- atru Malta theatre approaches are becoming bolder and more varied. My only concern is the lack of independent theatre critics who are knowledgea- ble enough and brave enough to offer constructive criti- cism instead of just praising everything out of fear of giving offence. What's next for you? I've been working on a semi-autobiographical novel- la told from the point of view of an eighty-year old tortoise. This is a challenge for me as my last and only prose work was Gezzu, which was published 40 years ago. But as I said in the beginning, I don't really knuck- le down to a new work until the curtain falls on the previous one. L-Interrogazzjoni will be staged in a private residence in Gharghur on February 7-10; 12, 14-16. Performances will begin at 8pm on all dates, with additional performances at 5pm on February 8, 9, 10, 15 and 16. L-Interrogazzjoni is a Teatru Malta production. Bookings: https://teatrumalta. org.mt/ "I am the kind of playwright who cannot work on a new project before the previous one has been brought to completion"