Theatre
Meta Ġrejna Wara x-Xemx
St James Cavalier

Walking into the theatre at St James Cavalier last weekend was quite the blast from the past. Clive Piscopo’s latest play, Meta Ġrejna Wara x-Xemx pays homage to those early millennials, dare I say, xennials, who were born in the early 1980s and bridged the shift between analogue and digital.

As a child of the 1980s, the references made to popular culture in this play were very well received and fully appreciated. But Piscopo cleverly plays on the happy carefree, simpler childhood of the 1980s and early 1990s, which was, I think, less complicated and stressful than those experienced by children and teenagers now; and uses the nostalgia to fuel the plotline of four estranged friends, who drift apart following an incident in their early 20s.

It takes a tragedy to finally bring them together after 12 years: the loss of their fifth mutual friend, Tommy (Luke Magro).

Convening at Tommy’s house after his death, the four remaining friends are drawn to the place following posthumously received letters from Tommy, who is often referred to as the glue that used to hold them together. Kevin, a relaxed and laid-back softy, Roberta, prim, proper and hopeful, and Mary Grace, ebullient, loud and honest, all turn up at Roberta’s invitation to try and figure out what the letters meant.

A great, highly enjoyable performance

Late to the meeting is Daniel, more reserved, rather uptight and not in Kevin’s good books. The focus is on their relationship with Tommy and each other – with the audience discovering more about each personal story as well as the circumstances which led up to their earlier estrangement.

Piscopo, writer, producer and actor – in this case playing Kevin – could not have asked for a better director than Lee-N Abela, whose perceptive character assessment and very sensitive staging worked with the space extremely well.

Piscopo himself has refined his writing over the years, to give his audience in this latest play a mature, often hilarious and poignant look at the bonds of friendship, loyalty and growing up, presented in a highly contemporary and realistic conversational style.

Piscopo’s Kevin, who he styled upon the trope of the soft-hearted good guy, and interpreted well, provided a good counter-character with Christine Francalanza’s Mary Grace – a part which I believe marks her transition into a truly versatile actress, and was terrific to see. Hers was a great performance: strong and thoroughly enjoyable. Balancing it well were both Piscopo and Sarah Camilleri’s poised Roberta – mature and hopeful, trying to piece together the senseless events while Mary Grace resists dwelling on the past as she looks to the future.

Christian Grech as Daniel also gave a controlled and solid performance, while two sets of actors played their younger selves in childhood and as young adults. The techniques used – such as flashbacks, voices-overs and a revolving stage, among others, are not new – but their use was judicious and highly effective. The final scene, following a twist where there is a subtle implication that there are multiple endings, depending on the circumstances at a specific point in the plot, ends in the same way: a stunning slow-motion re-enactment of the friends’ fondest memory.

And this is exactly what the play’s message is: savour the moments that matter, don’t dwell on the darkness of the past but let it throw the good times into strong relief.

A great, highly enjoyable performance, which showcases Piscopo’s new-found confidence in scripting and delivers a tight, polished production, which deserves to be seen.

Meta Ġrejna Wara x-Xemx is being staged at St James Cavalier in Valletta today, tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday at 8pm. For tickets, log on to www.kreattivita.org.