Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1268420
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 12 JULY 2020 4 THIS WEEK THEATRE WhatsTheirNames Theatre, known for their stripped down Shakespere productions at venues like The Pub and The Splendid, present Malta's first post-lockdown show with a take on the Bard's early farce, Comedy of Errors, in the beautiful setting of Villa Bologna. TEODOR RELJIC speaks to director Chris Gatt about the unsung merits of this early farce in the legendary playwright's back catalogue Giving farce the respect it deserves How does it feel to be taking the reins of the WhatsTheir- Names Shakespeare produc- tions? What did you make of their previous takes on the Bard's work? I'm not sure how to answer this question. I'm certainly not 'taking over' anyone's reins. Also because I feel that the question implies that the com- pany has some kind of house style, some kind of 'branding'. I tend to think of each produc- tion within its own terms. I'm not keen on 'branding' in the arts. In fact I'm suspicious of it. While recognising that over a period of time, a company can come to have 'a house style', I don't feel the need to commit to it. Indeed, my instinct is of- ten to question it. Once some- thing feels safe, I feel, it should be discarded. Having said that, the choice of WhatsTheirNames Theatre to work on big plays with a small cast in intimate spaces (wheth- er by force majeure or choice) is an exciting one. It immedi- ately challenges actors, and the audience focuses attention on the script itself. So I suppose this gives them a 'house-style' of sorts. It is this intimacy of space and cast which is probably the se- cret of their success. That, and the fact that they are a rather talented bunch of people. So for me it is a great privilege to be 'guest directing' these art- ists. In many ways it takes me back to when another small group of actors got together to create Theatre Anon. Again, limited budgets and spaces to work in led us, even in that case, to create stripped down, high energy productions to engage an audience with. I think, ultimately, as with all theatre, 'the play is the thing'. And in WhatsTheirNames Theatre there is a company focused on telling stories in as clear a manner possible. Comedy of Errors may not be the most instantly recognisable of Shakespeare's comedies – what attracts you to the text, and how will you be approach- ing the production itself? You are right. I think it is rarely produced because, first of all, it is an early work of Shakespeare's but secondly – because it's a farce. Unfortu- nately, farce is still not given the respect it deserves. And this is a shame. As in this play Shakespeare has shown that, even at this early stage in his career, he has a really firm grasp on plot and characters. His craftsmanship as a farceur is equivalent to Feydeau and Plautus, from whom he derived the original plot. As to why this play… well, apart from the fact that after three dire months I think we need a bit of a laugh, but also because we have a very short rehearsal period before differ- ent people disappear into oth- er projects, and this is Shake- speare's shortest play. However, I think the main reason is that it is a relatively unknown Shakespeare and I love the thrill of watching an audience discover a play for the first time. It also allows the actors and myself to create new characters without having to look over our shoulders at the 'tradition' of past perfor- mances. Most notably, this will also be Malta's first 'post-lockdown' theatrical show. Do you feel an additional degree of attention/ responsibility as a result of this? And is it the case that the WhatsTheirNames model is particularly amenable to the- atre produced under this very particular kind of duress? Essentially, the original con- cept was to create something outdoors (which is always saf- er) and for small groups. For once, there is safety in smaller numbers! As we take baby steps back to normality, we are trying to fig- ure out how to keep audiences and actors safe and entertained. Malta was lucky in exiting rel- atively unscathed. How far we can push the boat out is a moot point. There are no clear-cut answers and we will continue to take all the precautions we can. But I am confident that we will be performing in a very safe environment. What do you make of the way that Malta's cultural scene in general and theatrical scene in particular reacted to the onset of COVID-19? What would you like us to learn from this so- called crisis? "I'm not keen on 'branding' in the arts. In fact I'm suspicious of it"