That was the season, that was

The Malta theatre season that has just ended was arguably one of the most successful for some time. Between September of last year and the end of May 2008, we - the audience - were treated to some exceptional productions, with very few absolute turkeys.

This is obviously a subjective review, but for sheer bravado we feel that the title of the best production for the season must go to Unifaun's brilliant staging of Philip Ridley's unconventional drama Mercury Fur at the MITP Theatre in Valletta. Apart from the silly nonsense that occurred right at the beginning of the evening, when the audience were herded like cattle into their extremely uncomfortable seats, the production was a triumph. Director Chris Gatt (Is there anybody else directing theatre these days?) was on top form and marshalled a largely unknown and inexperienced cast beautifully.

Closely following Mercury Fur was Masquerade's production of John Patrick Shanley's intense drama Doubt, at the theatre-in-the-round at St James. Directed by Masquerade's co-founder anthony bezzina this was a gripping piece of theatre dealing with the very hot topic of child abuse by priests. Sensitively handled and wonderfully acted by a stellar cast containing Monica Attard, Malcolm Galea, Faye Paris and English actress Evelyn Duah, this was another theatrical highlight.

Child abuse was a theme that occupied several plays last season and it cropped up again in Irene Christ's production for Actinghouse of the contemporary German playwright Dea Lohr's play Tattoo. This was a taut, disturbing production, that gave splendid acting opportunities to all of the cast.

Theatre in the Maltese language got a timely boost last season and the main event - by far, was the eventual production of Mario Philip Azzopardi's 30-year-old comedy Sulari Fuq Strada Stretta at the Manoel Theatre in January. Directed by the playwright this production threw up marvellous acting opportunities for seasoned performers John Suda and Ninette Micallef. But it also further enhanced the growing reputation of highly promising young actor Sean Buhagiar.

Another excellent production in the vernacular was Joe Friggieri's direction of his play Caravaggio: L-Inkjesta. Set in present-day Malta, the play was structured as an investigation into the painter's character, genius and legacy. Manuel Cauchi gave a typically robust and clear performance in the title role.

A third Maltese language success was Trevor Zahra's satirical look at "percy" Minn Wara Iż-Żipp. Once more directed by Chris Gatt, this had its audiences howling with laughter.

This past season we were also blessed with a splendid panto at the Manoel. The MADC's Pirates of the Mediterranean was a breath of fresh air after a succession of duds in the past few years. Written by and starring as dame panto vet Edward Mercieca and directed by panto legend Nanette Brimmer, this really was panto as it should be, pacy, funny and with many of the traditional elements restored. Terrific stuff.

Apart from the panto the MADC also scored a hit with Christopher Durang's Laughing Wild at St James. Directed by Polly March and featuring Denise Mulholland and Alan Montanaro, this highlighted the frustrations of modern life in a very entertaining way.

Also enjoyed during the past season were Unifaun's Equus, Masquerade's Alarms and Excursions and F & M's SeaScape.

We were treated to a number of fine performances this season, so selecting the cream of the crop was not easy. We were however mightily impressed by two performances by young, comparatively unknown actors, Sean Buhagiar in Sulari and Equus and Chris Galea in Mercury Fur. As you'd expect we also saw some fine performances from the more established thesps. We've already mentioned Manuel Cauchi and John Suda, but there were also fine characterisations from Allan Paris in Equus, Edward Mercieca and Paul Portelli in SeaScape and Stefan Cachia Zammit in Tattoo.

There were also quite a few outstanding performances by actresses. We've already covered the work of Monica Attard and Fay Paris in Doubt. There was also a beautifully judged interpretation of sheer frustration from Denise Mulholland in Laughing Wild. Younger actresses to shine were Maria Buckle in Tattoo and Emily Jones in the otherwise disappointing Iron Ladies.

There were a few productions that misfired, but not nearly as many as in past years. So 2007 - 2008 turned out to be an all-round decent theatre season.