Get set for complete theatrical mayhem this March, at both Teatru Salesjan and Teatru Manoel.
For MADC will soon open the curtain on The Coarse Acting Show by Michael Green – a wildly entertaining production featuring a collection of six brilliant short comedies, where every possible disaster unfolds before the audience’s eyes.
In this night of non-stop laughter, everything that can go wrong, does. From collapsing sets to forgotten lines, misplaced props to mistimed cues, this play-within-a-play format features a troupe of actors desperately trying to maintain their dignity as their performances spiral into unmitigated chaos.
The MADC production boasts a stellar comedy cast directed by Stephen Oliver, including Alan Paris, Andrea Pace, Brendon Thearle, Craig Abela, Edward Caruana Galizia, Edward Thorpe, Francesca Briffa, Franco Sciberras, Jacob Falzon, Kate De Cesare, Leah Grech, Kim Dalli, Richard Godden and Shaun Rizzo.
The production’s six short plays each hilariously showcase actors at their absolute worst. Streuth is the classic murder mystery that Agatha Christie would never have dared to write, while A Collier’s Tuesday Tea attempts to deliver a serious Northern drama combining kitchen and coal mine, but is completely derailed by dodgy accents.
All’s Well That Ends As You Like It takes Shakespearean performance to new depths of disaster, as does The Cherry Sisters, an ‘undiscovered’ Chekhov piece with so much sincerity it is almost moving – or at least it would be, if not for the fact that someone has to die standing up in order to cope with a faulty prop.
Last Call for Breakfast serves up short avant-garde absurdity, made unfortunately even shorter when one actor gets stuck in a blackout, and Julius and Cleopatra rounds off the evening with a theatrical battle for the ages, complete with a chariot race that must be seen to be believed.
“We’re so excited to bring this production to the stage,” says Stephen Oliver. “Michael Green’s The Coarse Acting Show is a love letter to theatre – a stitch-inducing, exaggerated look at everything that can and does go wrong behind the scenes. It’s a celebration of live performance, of human error and of the magic that happens when actors refuse to give up, no matter how many catastrophes befall them. Audiences are going to love it – whether they are seasoned theatregoers or just looking for a side-splitting night out.”
MADC’s production of Michael Green’s The Coarse Acting Show performs at Teatru Salesjan, Sliema, on 14, 15, 16 March and at Teatru Manoel, Valletta, on 21, 22, 23 March, with all performances at 7.30pm. This production is suitable for audiences aged 10 and over. Booking is now open at www.madc.com.mt for performances at Teatru Salesjan and at www.teatrumanoel.mt for performances at Teatru Manoel. This amateur production of The Coarse Acting Show is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd on behalf of Samuel French Ltd: www.concordtheatricals.co.uk.
