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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 NOVEMBER 2024 2 BOOK 'The more things change, the more Maltese playwright Alfred Buttigieg LAURA CALLEJA speaks to Maltese playwright Alfred Buttigieg on the publication of Id –Drammi ta' Alfred Buttigieg a compilation of his works dating back to 1981. Buttigieg ref lects on the ever- changing theatre scene in Malta, and his decision to retire What was behind the decision to compile all of your works into one space, in this case, Id –Drammi ta' Alfred Buttigieg? It's very simple. I've always found writing mentally draining and after 50 years of this, I've had enough. The concept for a play comes suddenly and with great force, but the unspooling of that concept is a long and painful one for me. I know it's different for many others – I highly ad- mire prolific writers – but I'm too tired to face the process of writing another play. So anyway, once I took the decision to stop writing, the logical step was to collect all the plays that I'd had performed into one book. More practical. While compiling your works, did you reflect on the things you've written in the past and look at them in a new light, considering some of the works go back to 1981? Yes, I did. My reflection for most of my works was that the more things change, the more they remain the same. My last two plays, L-Interrogazzjoni and L-Arrest ta' Danny Weed, both highlight the friction between public law and private life, and the establishment's manipula- tion of and interference in police investigations. They are based on real-life events that happened relatively recently and I think they are as relevant as in the year they were written. As for my oldest full-length play, Ir-Rewwixta tal-Qassisin, it was produced twice under dif- ferent governments but reading it today, you realise that nothing has changed. That play attacks the government of the time in which it was written as well as the Opposition, the Church and the Maltese people. Unfortunately, we remain in the same situation – a corrupt, self-serving govern- ment, an inept Opposition, a si- lent Church struggling to survive and a population which cynically and egoistically does what suits it. The one-act plays are my ear- liest. Bus Stop and Ilqugh ghad- Dawl I found a bit dated, but I refused to update them. They're a product of their time. But if they were to be performed today, I'd be curious to see in what way the director might adapt them. La Logique is about a narcissis- tic, megalomaniac politician and I realised with a shock that with our current breed of politicians, it's tragically more relevant today than in 1981. I believe the other three plays are quite universal. Ippermettili Nitlaq is about the deep-seated need in many human beings to become parents, and how it may be exploited by some bad apples in the medical profession. It also presents the classic ethical di- lemma between life and quality of life. Dwar Menopawsi is about how we clutch at the illusion of youth even at the cost of ruining our lives and others'. As for Mela Hawn Xi Manikomju? it portrays that stage in life, extreme old age, where we pause on the threshold of death to look back with break- ing heart at the life we are about to exit. Can you tell us about how the theatre landscape has changed since you began writing, and do you think it's for the better or for the worse? Gone are the 80s when as members of Ateatru, we'd pro- duce plays on a budget of what today would be approximately €150. But in those days, nobody got paid and everyone took part for the love of it or for the hell of it. Nowadays, there are many more people doing theatre than 50 years ago and they too love it passionately. Productions are of a higher quality, really sophisti- cated and professional. But you can't produce a play these days without funds and sponsorship because even a modest play can cost you anything between €15,000 and €20,000 to produce. Even if you have people prepared to do it for free, you still have daunting expenses. I take my hat off to the numerous thea- tre-makers today. Being respon- sible for a contemporary produc- tion is nerve-wracking. What advice would you give playwrights in Malta in 2024? Regardless of the clichés, artis- tic creativity has more to do with self-discipline and sheer stamina for donkey work than some di- vine spark. It's not even an enjoy- able experience. It can be painful, tedious and terribly discourag- ing. That's as true now as it was when I started 50 years ago. Anything else you'd like to add? Several people have kindly urged me to reconsider my de- cision to stop writing. It's a pity, they remark, that I won't write another play. But I invite them to take another look at the plays I've already written. With the exception of Ir-Rewwixta, all my plays have been staged only once. Writing for the stage isn't the same as writing a novel. It's a bit like working in pyrotechnics – the firework is such an ephemer- al event, a second's worth of light and noise, then all is darkness and silence again. A script is only a work of art in waiting. It only comes to life when performed on stage. So, anyone looking for a play is welcome to leaf through this book and choose to breathe life into the plays that already exist. The book Id-Drammi ta' Al- fred Buttigieg is available at Agenda Bookshops in Republic Street and Tigne Point as well as from the Klabb Kotba Maltin stand at the Malta Book Festi- val. Stefan Cachia Zammit, Angele Galea and Liliana Portelli in a moving scene from Ippermettili Nitlaq