Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/949290
maltatoday SUNDAY 4 MARCH 2018 33 This Week Rekindling a love affair for theatre sort of redemption, perhaps even the capacity for forgiveness, or at least understanding and ac- ceptance. After Night 34 I had to pause, and it then took me two years to complete the last six poems, on and off, going through three different endings, battling with wishful thinking before set- tling for the ache of sincerity. In the scriptures of at least four different religions, the period of '40 days' is not to be taken liter- ally, but denotes a spell of time long enough to harbour and wit- ness a profound transformation, yet with a definite ending, sug- gesting a full circle. The poems of Erbgħin Jum are more mental and physical than spiritual, but I consider the Bible to be a rich work of literature, and drew upon other symbolisms carried by the number forty related to its roundness: the deluge, the test of temptation, rebirth. There is a deeply personal, even confessional feel to a lot of the collection. Was it cathartic for you to write, and perform? Writing was certainly a lifeline, and even translating the failed walks into the music of words helped me immensely. But I think what I most found cathar- tic was writing about childhood trauma, specifically in Maltese. Until the age of eight, living in England, Maltese used to fright- en me – it was the language of violence and intimidation in the home. It wasn't until I went to live with my grandparents in Qrendi that I began to learn Mal- tese properly, make it (almost) my own and eventually love it to the point of writing in it, but into my late thirties, I still had to make peace with the Maltese I heard as a child. Peace, not re- venge. Paċi kulaċi. Performing some of the poems at Studio Solipsis was in equal parts liberating and painful. It's taken me a good month to recov- er. The music by Adolf Formosa, Alex Vella Gera and Mark Abela was very comforting and allowed me to express myself without emotional hindrance. Halfway through, whilst reciting Night 20, in which I try to encourage my little brother to come out of the wardrobe but instead end up hiding with him after hearing noises downstairs, I felt an acute pain in the gut, but the music goaded me on. The book is very self-centred, which I'm not proud of, and at times rather pathetic. But I take solace in the fact that some peo- ple, mostly women, have come forward to say they identify per- sonally with some of the stories of domestic violence and psycho- logical abuse. I didn't set out to provide catharsis for anyone but myself, and my nuclear family in places, but if any of the poems help others face their trauma or depression, all the better. How did your ideas for the "book as an object" come about, when it comes to this particular volume? There is a very specific look and feel to the printed book. How did you plan for it with your collaborators, and are you happy with the end result? Though I've spoken of individ- ual 'poems', I also see the entire book as a single poem, split into days and nights. I wanted it to be printed in the form of a vademe- cum, not in the sense of a manual or diary, but as a trusty compan- ion, small and light, easy to walk with. The book is of course very personal, but it wouldn't have seen the light of day without col- laboration and friendship. I left Marco Scerri, the designer, and Steven Scicluna, the illustrator, to interpret the poems as they wished. I'm very happy with the end result, elegant and decep- tively simple. The typography has a classic but modern feel, and as a detail, I quite like the shape of the 'a', that most primal of letters, with a certain wonki- ness that fits the general mood well. Scicluna's eight 'stations', printed from woodcuts, illumi- nate the poem without being too mythological or self-conscious. My favourite is the fourth, the bicephalous bird traversing night and day at once. Erbgħin Jum is published by Ede Books Returning to theatre directing after a few long years of tending to Malta's cultural policy, Toni Attard speaks to TEODOR RELJIC about tackling Unifaun's upcoming production, En Folkefiende – An Enemy of the People, Brad Birch's modern retelling of Ibsen's classic play, tackling the urgent and all-too-relevant fault-lines between politics and media How does it feel to be back in the director's chair (or saddle... whichever you prefer) after something of a hiatus? It feels like a rekindled love affair – excited to be back, flirting with ideas that still need to be explored as if I'm thinking about them for the first time. You've previously collaborated with Unifaun Theatre on Tender Napalm, which was considered to be something of a landmark production by many local theatre aficionados, while also being staged at the Edinburgh Fringe. What is it about Unifaun that keeps you returning, and what kind of contribution do you think they've made to the local theatre scene over the years? As a producer, Adrian [Buckle] provides me and other collabo- rators with the ideal creative en- vironment to take risks – be it in content, subject matter or staging. I think that Unifaun has success- fully managed to bring a number of Maltese theatre makers together to collaborate on numerous pro- ductions in both Maltese and Eng- lish and across different genres. With a diverse portfolio ranging from in-yer-face theatre to straight comedy, leading to mixed box of- fice takings and critical reviews, Unifaun is by far one of Malta's most prolific and diverse produc- tion companies in the contempo- rary theatre scene. After all is said and done, however, subtlety may not be Unifaun's forte – given their reputation for visceral, in- yer-face theatre, as well as what appears to be openly, confrontationally political shows like Enemy of the People. What excited you about this project, and what kind of reaction do you hope it will evoke in the audience? A week after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia I was reading an article in an interna- tional newspaper on the open and indiscriminate global attack of in- dependent media, fuelled by the now well established fake news discourse. At the time I wasn't re- ally planning to direct any work, however I felt there was a sense of urgency in exploring this further. I started reading different scripts until Adrain introduced me to Brad Birch's adaptation of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. The economical way in which Brad explores the characters and the scandal that unfolds, was the perfect text to open up a conver- sation. The complex relationship between politics, the media, busi- ness and society is not new to the- atre and the original 19th century work sets the perfect tone. As we try to decipher between fact and fic- tion, news and hearsay, in a virtual space cluttered with noise, filtering truth is a daunting task. When the media and knowl- edgeable experts across different technical sectors are trusted less than politicians, then fundamen- tal processes in democracy are at stake. The rehearsal process is mainly characterised by an ex- amination of what the characters expose and hide during their mo- ments of silence because every- one's intention may not be what it seems to be. This psychological game is extended to the audience, who are invited to scrutinise these relationships as the enemy of the people is created before any truth will ever emerge. You've been at the forefront of Malta's cultural strategy over the past few years, and are now branching out into the private sector with your skill-set. What prompted this move, and is finding time for creative projects such as these a part of it? For a number of years I've been advocating the importance of the private sector to secure sustainable growth in the creative sectors and I always had a keen interest in ex- ploring this in my personal capac- ity. After 11 years working in the public sector it was time to plunge into this adventure. Shifting from international cultural policy design to producing arts projects and di- recting my own work as part of a long day's work is very exciting and challenging. This situation gives me the freedom to move from one project to another in Malta and abroad linking my different profes- sional and artistic interests. On that note, and as someone with a clear idea about where cultural policy and related funding streams may be going, what advice would you give to creatives in Malta who are rearing to take a risk on their pet projects? There are a number of chan- nels available to kick off creative projects and starting off with a conversation on funding may not always be a good starting point to get that idea off the ground. More time should be spent on researching that idea and finding the right collaborators and part- ners to shape a project idea into manageable stepping stones. Sharing a pet project with other artists or organisations may be problematic for some, however collaborations provide new op- portunities for ideas to grow and individual weaknesses can easily transform into productive collec- tive efforts. Very few can singlehandedly create, manage and sell their own work without losing focus on their artistic vision. In addi- tion, as competition for public funding on both national and European levels increases at a faster rate than available funds, projects needs to be exceptionally designed to meet the priorities of the funds – this is the nature of the beast, but never change the vision of your project to lure the beast. What's next for you? My next project as a theatre director will be a collaboration with ZfinMalta Dance Ensemble in an adaptation of Francis Ebe- jer's Boulevard as part of the Te- atru Malta season. This is my first dance theatre collaboration with Paolo Mangiola, the company's artistic director. The project is a nine-month creative process that brings together contemporary dancers and actors on the Ma- noel Theatre stage inspired by an absurd piece that shook the Mal- En Folkefiende – An Enemy of the People will be staged at Blue Box at M Space, Msida on March 9-11 and 16-18 at 20:00. The cast includes: Mikhail Basmadjian, Anthony Ellul, Simone Spiteri, Antonella Axisa, Victor Debono, Philip Leone Ganado, Jean Marc Agius Cafa and Raquel Theuma. Bookings: "http://bluebox.azurewebsites.net/Event/10371/"http://bluebox. azurewebsites.net/Event/10371/ Erbghin Jum's illustrator Steven Scicluna painting during the launch party Mikhail Basmadjan and Antonella Axisa in En Folkefiende – An Enemy of the People Toni Attard