Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1540090
2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 5 OCTOBER 2025 THEATRE The Trial of Artemisia staged in Maltese for the first time THIS October, NAĦLIFLEK brings to the stage the trial of Artemisia Gentileschi, painter, survivor, and pioneer, in Maltese for the first time. For actors Clare Agius and Kim Dalli, the production is more than a retelling of history: it is an exploration of loyalty, betrayal, and justice, given a new voice through the Maltese language. Speaking to MaltaToday, both actresses agree that the choice of language reshapes the way the story is experienced. "I find Maltese to be very rich and expressive," Clare says. "With the characters being Ital- ian and the similarities of our fiery way of expression, it actually shapes the storytell- ing extremely well. Kim has done an excel- lent job in translating and the audience will certainly connect to us and the story." Kim, who performs in the role of Artemi- sia, also translated the piece. She describes Maltese as a natural and powerful medium for this story: "For me, Maltese has a unique power in expressing raw emotion. Its gut- tural sounds lend themselves to the depth, the ache, and even the violence of feelings in a way that feels very direct and visceral. That intensity enhances the storytelling and makes the experience more immediate for a local audience." She adds that parts of the script draw di- rectly from Artemisia's 17th-century trial: "Interestingly, while the play takes consid- erable artistic licence, there are also mo- ments drawn from the original court tran- scripts written in Italian. Translating them into Maltese felt more fluid and authentic, since Italian is linguistically closer to Mal- tese. That closeness gave the text a real im- mediacy." The play's themes of loyalty, betrayal, and justice resonate strongly with both actress- es, not just as performers but as women who have witnessed or felt those emotions deeply. "If they did not directly happen to me, they directly happened to someone close to me, enough for me to know the depth of these emotions. I have also been extreme- ly sensitive to emotions and through the years I have learnt to tap into them when characterising my roles. What I find most- ly intriguing is the many layers within that one emotion and how it can evolve or dis- solve throughout the performance," Clare reflects. For Kim, the connection is what made her want to bring the story to Malta in the first place: "What strikes me most is how rele- vant these themes remain today. More than four centuries have passed since Artemi- sia's trial, yet we still open the news to see modern Artemisias in the headlines. The persistence of victim blaming is particularly striking. The same mechanisms of doubt, shaming, and discrediting that Artemisia was subjected to are still present in contem- porary discourse." She draws parallel to today's world: "In the 17th century, reputations could be de- stroyed by rumour and hearsay. Today, that process is accelerated and amplified by so- cial media, where public opinion often de- livers its verdict long before any court does." As the only actor who consistently plays Artemisia, Kim says she carries Artemisia's voice. "Carrying Artemisia's voice is indeed a profound responsibility," she says. "She embodies not only her own story of person- al, psychological, and physical trauma, but also the collective voice of countless wom- en across history. Yet Artemisia's story is not defined by tragedy alone. What makes her such a compelling figure is her resil- ience and refusal to be diminished. Despite the violence she suffered, she carved out a career that defied the conventions of her time." Kim is clear about the challenge, "The privilege lies in conveying both dimen- sions: the rawness of her suffering and the strength of her defiance. That duality an- chors the play, and I feel a deep obligation to honour it." Clare's central role in the production is Tutzia, Artemisia's maid, a woman whose betrayal is deeply felt. "I would have run a mile from people like Tutzia in real life and would find it very hard to deal with that type of betrayal," Clare admits. "So, step- ping into the shoes of the person who is ca- pable of such betrayal is actually hard. But she does have an arc. Towards the end of the play, another side of Tutzia is revealed, which could possibly offer the audience a reason why she felt the need to betray Ar- temisia. Often, we tend to overlook that the perpetrator may have had his or her own sufferings. I am not excusing them, but it goes to show that each character is made up of many layers of being." Clare says the complexity of the character is what drew her to the role. "She too was a victim at one point but made a wrong deci- sion and put her foot in it, until the moment of realisation kicked in and touched her in a way that made her want to make it right." More so, Clare says the attraction lies in navigating the challenges a character like Tutzia presents. "I would not say challeng- ing, I would say navigating between protec- tion and betrayal, which is actually the at- traction I felt towards being part of this cast and production. This navigation process is what makes something for me as an actress worth my time. I grow in mind and spirit each time I experience something like this, and that is the purpose of theatre for me." Both actresses also slip into other charac- ters throughout the performance, and each has her own way of shifting between roles. "What helps in my case is building well each character that I would have drawn from some people I would know. After I would have composed him or her, I prac- tice until it comes natural enough to play with those characters and bring them out of their box at that appropriate time of the play," Clare explains. While Kim describes her approach as car- rying "a series of suitcases." She says that in- side each one is the mannerisms, language, memories, and thought processes of a par- ticular character. "Stepping into them is like slipping on a new layer. But no matter how many of these 'suitcases' I open, Artemisia's presence re- mains the anchor, the constant thread that ties everything together. For both Kim and Clare, NAĦLIFLEK is not only a story of the past but also a mirror for the present. In giving Artemisia's voice to the Maltese stage, they reveal not just history, but its enduring resonance. NAĦLIFLEK will be staged from 17 to 26 October 2025 and will be performed in Maltese, with shows with English surtitles on Sunday 19 and Friday 24 October 2025. This project is supported by Arts Council Malta, in collaboration with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, La Valletta. LAURA CALLEJA lcalleja@mediatoday.com.mt All photos by Lorella Castillo