Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/252940
29 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 FEBRUARY 2014 BEAUTIFUL BALI pg 38 STATESIDE SWINDLE pg 34 VAUNTED VINEGAR pgs 36-37 Writing is a notoriously time- consuming endeavour that of- ten requires a good amount of planning and trial-and-error. How did you reconcile the needs of the craf t with writing some- thing so topical? Well, the first version of the play was ready last August, when we did a first reading with the actors. Since then, I have edited and rewritten and reedited inces- santly. The final version of the play was completed on the first day of this year, by which time re- hearsals were already underway. The short version is that when I'm working on a project, I don't sleep until it's done. The play has already evoked a strong reaction f rom certain more conservative quarters of the Maltese social media web – and it hasn't even been staged yet. How does this make you feel, and are you bracing yourself for an even stronger reaction af ter the curtain goes up? A lot of people are saying that the diatribe against the play was a blessing in disguise and that may indeed be the case as far as ticket sales are concerned. However, as the author, I feel cheated be- cause so much is being said about the supposed controversy at the expense of a serious discussion about the text itself which no- body has actually seen. The play is already being judged positively or otherwise on the merits of TV programmes and YouTube com- ments. I am worried that audi- ence opinion might be inf luenced by the whole debate surrounding the play. But there is obviously no going back now, we' ll just have to wait and see. I really don't understand why for the person who made that YouTube clip against the play and others like him, homosexu- alit y has to be associated with paedophilia. I guess it must be a stubborn form of ignorance that nothing can change. This is a grossly mistaken and hugely damaging belief, which confuses adult consensual relations with adult abuse of children. W hat is it about gay adoption that makes it so ripe for drama? Do you think the play could ef- fect real change or inf luence public opinion? I honestly don't know if my play can inf luence public opinion but that wasn't my main intention. The aim was to incite debate about the subject and I guess it has done so already, which can't be a bad thing. In the play itself there are characters in favour of surrogacy and characters against. There are characters who agree with gay parenting and others who do not. In my writing I have tried to be impartial. Even though I, like everybody, have my own views, I have tried to give a voice to both sides. What I do put down is hatred. Historically many cat- egories of people have been the object of grossly unjust and irra- tional discrimination – women, black people, the left-handed... the list goes on. Homosexual- it y is no different. This attitude just doesn't make sense and has no place in a modern, inclusive societ y. Original scripts by Maltese playwrights are hard to come by. W hat needs to be done (or what do you think needs to hap- pen) for them to become the rule rather than the exception? I think that we're slowly mov- ing in the right direction. Jiena Nħobb, Inti Tħobb is my sec- ond Maltese play of the season, the other one being Għajn Eye Three, which was well-recieved by a younger audience during the Żigużajg festival at the St James Cavalier Centre for Creativ- it y last November. As one of the evaluators during the latest edi- tion of the Premju Francis Ebejer play writing competition, I must say that, although there were a few abysmal entries, there were some very promising ones too. Prospective dramatists need to remember that language is just one aspect of good drama. I strive to be topical, current, and yes, why not, a little controversial. Jiena Nħobb, Inti Tħobb will be staged at the Manoel Thea- tre on Feburary 7 to 10. Book- ings: bookings@teatrumanoel. com.mt, 21 246389 The upcoming gay adoption drama Jiena Nhobb, Inti Thobb has already sparked off a debate after it was attacked by a member of 'gay conversion' Christian group River of Love, and it hasn't even been staged yet. TEODOR RELJIC asks playwright Simon Bartolo whether he thinks the pre-emptive controversy will affect the outcome of the play The love that dare not speak its name? Simon Bartolo Victor De Bono, Ray Calleja and Davide Tucci Clare Agius, Roderick Vassallo and Davide Tucci