After the outstanding success of Jiena Nħobb, Inti Tħobb earlier this year, Staġun Teatru Malti 2014, in collaboration with the Manoel Theatre, returns with yet another highly-anticipated production that is set to be one of the major highlights for the theatre lover’s calendar. Laced with a different brand of controversy other than homosexuality, Ċittadin Vassalli tells the story of a patriot whose revolutionary methods changed the course of Malta’s history. His name is Mikiel Anton Vassalli (Sean Buhagiar), the Father of the Maltese language, who, together with Nardu (Kris Spiteri), Saver (John Suda) and Mikiel Xerri (Mario Micallef), was the instrument that paved the way to freedom and independence from colonisation for the Maltese Islands.
At the press conference that was held precisely where the whole caboodle is going to take place this coming weekend, namely the Manoel Theatre, the director, Mario Philip Azzopardi, stressed the importance of this event for the history of theatre. This, he said, boils down to its authentic display of Maltese identity, because besides being written and performed in Maltese, this tale is as relevant and contemporary today as it was when it first asserted with Vassalli’s revolution against the French back in 1798.
Fun fact: Mikiel Anton Vassalli is an ancestor of both Azzopardi and Kenneth Zammit Tabona!
Written by Tyrone Grima and supported by the Malta Arts Fund, the play opens on the 11th and runs till the 13th in the heart of our gorgeous capital city, Valletta. So twirl your French-styled moustaches – or ready your guns, if you’re feeling patriotic – and get ready for a sweet trip down history lane!
Tickets can be bought from the Manoel Theatre website
