Having missed out on their annual appointment at San Anton Gardens in 2020 due to the pandemic, the Malta Amateur Dramatic Club (MADC) will finally make its eagerly anticipated return to the local theatre scene this summer. The Club had intended to stage The Merry Wives of Windsor; however, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the initial plan was postponed to July 2022 and is being replaced by Midsummer by David Greig and Gordon McIntyre.
A collaboration between playwright Greig and singer-songwriter McIntyre, Midsummer is a short play, featuring some songs, that originally opened at Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre in October 2008. Then, in 2018, it received much acclaim in a revival at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Directed by Chris Gatt and with Maxine Aquilina, Chris Dingli and Paul Portelli forming the cast of three, the story unfolds over a rainy Midsummer’s weekend in Edinburgh. One evening, Bob, who earns a living by running errands for a local gangster, meets Helena, a high-powered divorce lawyer who is having an unsatisfactory affair with a married man. Bob and Helena have absolutely nothing in common, yet still get together for a one-night stand. Their worlds are turned upside down and, in an act of self-rebellion, they break their own rules in a night, a day and a second night of glorious misadventures – wrecking marriage ceremonies, spending the proceeds of the sale of a stolen car and generally doing all the things responsible adults should not do.
“Midsummer has an excellent script by a wonderful playwright who writes with honesty and humanity,” says Mr Gatt. “The play offers a significant and exciting challenge to the actors as they take the audience through one Midsummer weekend in Edinburgh. It is a bittersweet romcom that is uplifting without being sentimental. It is funny, heartwarming and a great tonic in these somewhat depressing times. And did I say it has songs – lots of them?” he adds.
“As the pandemic continued into 2021, our plans for The Merry Wives of Windsor had to be postponed once more as, given prevailing COVID-19 restrictions, we could not work on a major production with a large cast. We therefore decided to replace it with a smaller production and Midsummer is the perfect fit,” says MADC Chairman Martin Azzopardi.
“We are thrilled to present this delightful little play with songs as our comeback production at San Anton Gardens, and we hope that this is the start to a return to normality so that the MADC can continue to do what it does best: offer quality theatrical entertainment to our audiences.”
Midsummer is rated 16+ and runs from 24 to 31 July at San Anton Gardens, Attard. Tickets cost €22. For bookings and entry guidelines visit www.madc.com.mt. This amateur production of Midsummer by David Greig and Gordon McIntyre is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd on behalf of Samuel French Ltd: www.concordtheatricals.co.uk .
