'We owe her': Renowned actress, director Marylu Coppini dies, aged 76

Updated 4.09pm

Actress Marylu Coppini, one of Malta’s most prolific and versatile stage performers died on Christmas Eve. Aged 76, she passed away at Mater Dei Hospital following a short illness.  

In a career spanning more than six decades, Coppini performed extensively for screen and on stage, before becoming involved in directing in the late 1980s. She also served as artistic director for MADC for several years. 

Among others, she performed lead roles in Shakespeare and Oscar Wilde plays and performed the lead parts in plays like Glorious and Tartuffe.

Her last stage presence was performing the role of Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest in 2020.

Coppini’s acting career began in 1962, when she appeared in the children’s film Treasure in Malta, released a year later. She most recently appeared in the film Żafżifa, released earlier this year.

She regularly appeared in programmes including Santa Monica, Villa Sunset and L-Erba L’Huma, winning a Malta Television Award for her work on the latter in 2006.

The actress appeared in numerous stage productions, twice receiving the MADC Best Actress award.

Among others, she directed the productions Adult Entertainment, South Pacific, A Chorus of Disapproval, Private Lives, The Comedy of Errors, Charlie's Aunt, The Merchant of Venice and pantomimes Rapunzel and Beauty and the Beast .

Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi.

Coppini's first time directing came in 1988, when she directed The Importance of Being Earnest at the Manoel Theatre, with further productions following, including Shakespeare plays, musicals and pantomimes.

Discussing the merits of stage and screen acting in a 2012 interview with Times of Malta, Coppini said, “Working on television means you reach more people and there is less pressure to get it right in one... With a theatre audience, there is a palpable energy and instant feedback.”

She described acting as a discipline that “needs constant work”.

Asked at the time about the best part of her job, Coppini said: “Dressing up is always fun!”

Coppini performing the lead role in Ben Elton's Silly Cow in 1999.

She is survived by her husband and two daughters, who followed in their mother's footsteps, performing in various MADC productions.

'A legend of Maltese theatre'

Paying tribute, actor and director Michael Mangion said: "Marylu was not only a top actress and director with an impressive portfolio of work but was also a great mentor and support to those starting out in the business. A lot of us in theatre owe her a debt of gratitude."

Actress and artist Isabel Warrington said: "Marylu was a talented actress who had a strong command of her craft. She was also an excellent director from whom I learned a lot.  She encouraged me throughout my acting career and we had an understanding and respect for each other’s skills. Marylu was no pushover - if she had an opinion, she wouldn’t shy away from stating it, irrespective of whether it made her popular or not. With her dry wit and cheeky sense of humour, she will remain forever in our hearts."

Marylu Coppini with Isabel Warrington in Present Laughter.

Actor and theatre producer Edward Mercieca, a longtime collaborator of Coppini, described her as a "legend of Maltese theatre. A brilliant actor, comedienne and director".

In a Facebook tribute, Mercieca said the late actress "played a massive part in my theatre career as I was starting out with the MADC over forty years ago!"

Writer and performer Alan Montanaro called Coppini a "true stalwart of the Maltese theatre scene and a pillar of MADC – the springboard club from which so many of us first leapt".

She was a "traditionalist and an innovator rolled into one: fiercely protective of the arts, generous with her knowledge, and a mentor to many – certainly to me", he said.

Paying tribute to her "razor-sharp, finely tuned sense of humour", Montanaro said, "Theatre in Malta would not be what it is without her".

Culture Minister Owen Bonnici said Maltese theatre had "lost a pillar of the Thespian community.  Marylu’s contribution to Maltese theatre and television has endeared her with generations of audiences".

"She will be gravely missed."

PN deputy leader Alex Perici Calascione called Coppini a "commanding presence on stage and on camera and one of the most influential contributors to the growth and development of performing arts in Malta".