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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 21 FEBRUARY 2016 31 This Week An interesting experiment is afoot: local company WhatsTheirNames Theatre will be staging William Shakespeare's romantic comedy Two Gentlemen of Verona at The Pub in Valletta. TEODOR RELJIC speaks to director Philip Leone-Ganado, and promises there will be drinking amid the drama… What led you to choose this particular Shakespeare play, and how did you de- cide on The Pub as a location? The choice of the play and the choice of the venue kind of went hand in hand, in that this is ultimately a very site-specific production – we're not just acting Shake- speare in a pub, we're actually setting it in a pub. The background is that my close friend and collaborator Nathan Brimmer took over The Pub in 2014 and we immediately knew we'd one day be using it as a venue. Staging Shakespeare was also a long-term goal of mine since we set up WhatsTheir- Names seven years ago. The two came to- gether when I was re-reading Two Gentle- men of Verona and the rather odd thought occurred to me that most of the scenes could conceivably take place in a pub. The play is also possibly Shakespeare's earliest, written in his late 20s – it's fast, it's funny, and it manages to fit in some quite moving moments too. It's about the sort of stupid problems twenty-somethings face, falling in love with the wrong person, fighting with your friends, dressing up as a boy to follow your lost love into the for- est… you know, standard. And if there's a set for the comedy-drama of a twenty- something's life, it's a pub. What do you think such a venue adds to the experience? As a venue, The Pub has incredible char- acter. And those who've been there know it's a tiny hole-in-the-wall, so as we've of- ten done, we're going to be playing to a tiny audience each night (just 20, this time round). It's going to be intimate and excit- ing – there's a fair bit of audience interac- tion and fourth-wall breaking, especially as five actors are playing some 17 roles. And there's drinking! In a few words, the venue brings us closer to your typical pub experi- ence than your typical Shakespeare experi- ence – without losing anything that makes Shakespeare Shakespeare. On a similar note, would you say we need to push Maltese Shakespeare pro- ductions further away from the usual 'mainstream' venues? What would be the advantages to the Bard's reputation in Malta, if his plays were staged in less stuffy places? To be fair, while we're not exactly over- fed on Shakespeare, what little we do get tends to do quite well in terms of variety of venues – especially with the outdoor tradi- tion we've adopted so enthusiastically. But yes, one of my hopes with this play is that people who typically wouldn't give Shake- speare a shot might be tempted by the fact that it's in a pub. It's not news to say Shake- speare has a bit of an image problem, but at the end of the day, that image is simply wrong. Anything that helps to undermine the idea of big speeches and men in tights is a positive thing. What kind of approach are you taking to the play's content, and how were the actors chosen to fit this vision? We've cut the text quite extensively to en- sure a quick pace and run-time, but it's un- apologetically still Shakespeare: we spent the first two weeks working on text to en- sure the actors know exactly what they're saying – which will allow them to carry the audience along with that meaning too. Beyond the text itself though, we've tak- en a very modern approach to the whole thing. It's quick, it's conversational, we've got modern costumes and music – the lot. We chose the actors with our usual focus on young, exciting talent and a mix of old and new faces. There's a lot of doubling, so we also needed versatile people who were ready to improvise and create. What would you make of the local thea- tre scene? What would you change about it? It's a cliché, but it is really stronger than it's ever been. To give one example, Teatru Manoel Youth Theatre has come close to the rep structure we've been crying out for for years, and it's already started turn- ing out some really exciting talents – who, even more importantly, have loads of drive, initiative and innovation. We're going to be seeing the fruits of this for years to come. On the other hand, the (for want of a bet- ter word) professionalisation brigade are throwing up some interesting challenges of legacy and identity. I still feel there isn't enough discussion with the companies that have, for better or worse, driven the theatre scene for decades. We all want higher qual- ity work and more professional standards, but I feel a widening gulf that feels danger- ously like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. What's next for you? I go straight into directing Image of an Unknown Young Woman, a new British play about revolution and iconic images and YouTube, for the MADC at the Blue Box in Msida in May. Then, if this works, maybe more Shakespeare at the pub? Two Gentlemen of Verona is directed by Philip Leone-Ganado and stars Joe Azzo- pardi, Nathan Brimmer, Bettina Paris, Giulia Xuereb and Joseph Zammit. Per- formances will be held at 20:00 on March 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 12, 13, 14, 15. Tickets from: The Pub, Archbishop's Street, Vallet- ta; whatstheirnames.theatre@gmail.com; 7734 5207 Joe Azzopardi and Bettina Paris in Two Gentlemen of Verona of jazz PHOTOGRAPHY BY BERNARD POLIDANO PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACOB SAMMUT make music which merits atten- tion and exposure. In the jazz scene, the number of albums and projects which have been released in the last couple of years is admirable! One can mention albums re- leased by Dominic Galea, Vinny Vella, The Ranch, f trio, Car- lo Muscat and Manuel Pulis, amongst others. I am also aware that Carlo Muscat and Noir are currently also in the process of recording their respective al- bums. So lately there has defi- nitely been a surge of material in the jazz scene. In general, opportunities for gigs and performances have improved quite a lot, however I still believe that the younger generation can be provided with more opportunities. Nadine Axisa will be accom- panied by Joe Debono (piano), Oliver Degabriele (double bass), Joseph Camilleri (drums) and Walter Vella (saxophone and flute). The concert will take place at 20:00 on each night. Bookings www.ticketline.com.mt Shakespeare at The Pub