Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1533434
9 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 19 MARCH 2025 CULTURE THIS April Teatru Manoel pre- sents Is-Surmast by Trevor Zahra, in a special performance marking 30 years since the play was first performed on the stage of Malta's national theatre. Directed by Jo- seph Galea and starring Charles Sammut, this Maltese language comedy-drama is set to be a treat for audiences of all ages. The script of Is-Surmast is based on Zahra's novel of the same name, and focuses on the character of Carmelo Ciantar: an eccentric and lovable head- master ("surmast") at a prima- ry school, who was willing to ignore the instructions of his superiors in order to allow his school to run the same way he ran his home, based on his own personal whims and following in the footsteps of Santa Filomena. Things ran smoothly at home and school, until an old family friend returned from England and turned things upside down for Carmelo. This production of Is-Surmast is performed by a formidable lo- cal cast including Charles Sam- mut in the leading role, Mario Spiteri (Snitz), Andre Mangion, Ryan Mark Debattista, Antonel- la Galea Loffreda, Marceline Galea, Anthony Ellul, Claudia Mizzi, and Emanuel Cassar, along with a number of young performers playing the roles of the school students. The origi- nal music is composed by Albert Garzia. Trevor Zahra is widely regard- ed as Malta's most prolific writ- er. In 2020, Zahra was awarded the prestigious National Book Prize Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. The Prize pays tribute to Zahra's long ca- reer of important contributions to local literature, having pub- lished more than 130 books for children, adolescents and adults. Zahra is also Malta's most deco- rated National Book Prize-win- ning author, having received the Prize twenty times – nineteen times as an author and once as an illustrator. Is-Surmast plays at Teatru Ma- noel from Friday the 4th to Sun- day the 6th of April, with shows starting at 19:30, and a mat- inee performance on Sunday starting at 15:30. Tickets range from €10 to €30 and can be pur- chased at https://teatrumanoel. mt/event/is-surmast/. Alterna- tively, guests may visit the Box Office on Old Theatre Street or call (+356) 21246389. The Box Office is open Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 17:00 and on Sat- urdays from 10:00 to 13:00. Trevor Zahra's Is-Surmast to take the stage at Teatru Manoel 30 years after its first performance Is-Surmast runs from 4 to 6 April 2025 and features Charles Sammut in the title role