Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1515076
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 28 JANUARY 2024 5 CULTURE Masquerade announces star-studded cast for Oliver! Booking opens soon for Lionel Bart's world- famous musical – with an unmissable early bird offer. MASQUERADE Malta has brought together an extraordi- nary cast of performers for a new production of Lionel Bart's Oliver! at the Mediterranean Conference Centre this April – with a 10% discount on selected tickets when booking opens on 29 January! With an award-winning score featuring songs such as Food Glorious Food, Consider Your- self, I'd Do Anything, Who Will Buy?, Where is Love? and Oom- Pah-Pah – as well as multiple Tony Awards and an Academy Award-winning film adaptation – there are few who haven't heard the music and story of one of the greatest musicals of all time, Ol- iver!. Based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, Oliver! tells the story of a young orphan whose search for love draws him into Victorian London's seedy underworld, where he meets a whole host of unforgettable char- acters. In the star-studded new Mas- querade production, Dorothy Bezzina plays Nancy, Thomas Camilleri plays Fagin, Mikhail Basmadjian is Bill Sikes, Cliff Zammit Stevens is Mr Bum- ble, Kate Fenech Field is Widow Corney, Paul Portelli is Mr Sow- erberry and Katherine Brown plays Mrs Sowerberry. Joining them to tell the timeless tale is a large ensemble, including dozens of young performers in various roles such as the Artful Dodger and Oliver himself. Supporting the stellar cast is a highly experienced creative team, with director anthony bezzina, musical director Kris Spiteri, choreographer Valerie Burke, set designer Romualdo Moretti and costume designer Simona Mamo. What's more, when booking opens on Monday 29 January, most tickets include a 10% dis- count through an unmissable early bird offer – available for a limited time only, from www. showshappening.com! "We are thrilled to be welcom- ing such a brilliant cast for our next musical production of Ol- iver!" says Masquerade artistic director, anthony bezzina. "Each cast member already has a truly awe-inspiring performance re- sume, and together they'll create a show just as fantastic, as heart- warming and as unforgettable as this captivating family musical." Lionel Bart's Oliver! plays at the Mediterranean Confer- ence Centre, Valletta, from 5-14 April, with matinee and evening performances available. Booking opens on 29 January at www.showshappening.com. The early bird offer reduces the full ticket price by 10% on most tickets, for a limited time only. Lionel Bart's Oliver! is a Masquerade Malta Produc- tion licensed by Music Theatre International. For more infor- mation, visit www.masquerade- malta.com. MADC to stage Tony Award-winning dark comedy thriller THOSE with a dark sense of hu- mour, get set: an unmissable new production from MADC promis- es to be one of the first highlights of 2024's theatre season. Touted by The Guardian as "the blackest of comedy that is both hilarious and horrific" and writ- ten by four-time Oscar nominee Martin McDonagh, The Beauty Queen of Leenane has won four Tony Awards on Broadway and received a nomination for a Lau- rence Olivier Award. MADC's production, which stars top performers Isabel War- rington, Andrea Pace, Nicholas Jackman and Alex Weenink, will take to the stage at the MADC Playhouse over two weekends on 23, 24 and 25 February and 1, 2 and 3 March, hot on the heels of the sell-out success of MADC's Christmas pantomime, Beauty and the Beast. Directed by Adrian Buckle, The Beauty Queen of Leenane also fea- tures an impressive creative team with costume design by Nicole Cuschieri, set design by Mar- co Mallia and lighting design by Chris Gatt. The story follows a plain and lonely spinster in a run-down cot- tage in the Irish village of Leenane, amid her first, and possibly final, chance at love – and her demand- ing and manipulative mother who will stop at nothing to derail it. Combining thrilling elements of farce and melodrama with a sear- ing critique on the sanctity of fam- ily, the play explores the tension of isolation and desperate conflict. "Equal parts funny, sad and un- settling, The Beauty Queen of Leenane is a timeless and relatable play that has become a modern classic with a long list of prestig- ious awards," says MADC Chair- man Stephen Casaletto. "Such an extraordinary play needs a truly ex- traordinary and highly experienced cast, led by Isabel Warrington and Andrea Pace and directed by Adri- an Buckle, for what promises to be an unforgettable event in Malta's theatrical calendar this year." MADC's The Beauty Queen of Leenane will be performed at the MADC Playhouse, Sta Ven- era, on 23, 24 and 25 February and 1, 2 and 3 March, with all performances at 7.30pm. This production is suitable for audi- ences aged 16 and over. Booking is now open at www.madc.com. mt. The MADC production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane is supported by The Embassy of Ireland in Malta and presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd on behalf of Samuel French Ltd: www.con- cordtheatricals.co.uk. The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh stars Isabel Warrington and Andrea Pace at the MADC Playhouse next month The Beauty Queen of Leenane ( photo by Justin Mamo)