Have you ever heard of the Pope named Joan? No, not John, Joan. Legend has it that history has concealed the life of the only female pope to have ever lived and Teatru Malta will tell her story. A woman forced to shroud her identity in order to obtain the knowledge she was so unjustly denied as a young female, forced to dress as a man to be able to quench her thirst for knowledge and gain access to scriptures forbidden to the eyes of any female.
Joan grew to be a woman like many we see among us today, independent, determined and driven. Sure of herself and her destiny and willing to stop at absolutely nothing to achieve what she feels is just as much her right as it would be anyone else’s, irrespective of gender, social status or age.
German director Irene Christ’s decision to produce this play based on the novel by Diana Woolfolk Cross in 2019 was an important one. Why choose a script about a 9th century Pope who bore an illegitimate child and was allegedly stoned to death, for the 2019 Malta International Arts Festival?
Because Joan’s story is as relevant as ever in a 21st century setting. The road to gender equality is still a long and winding one and this production produced by Malta’s national theatre company in the stage version by Susanne Felicitas Wolf, proves to be nothing short of a July spectacle, very much worth the €20 ticket.
This world premiere will be staged at the Mdina ditch and mark the first time this sensational production will be performed in English, and what a star-studded cast to do it. Maria Buckle will star as Joan while Antonella Axisa, Chris Galea, Faye Paris, Alan Paris, Mikhail Basmadjian, Alex Weenink, Michael Mangion, Joe Depasquale, Stephen Mintoff and Peter Galea will all have main parts along with the youngest actors, Ileana Cutajar, Julian Zammit and Miguel Azzopardi. Costumes and production design are by Joachim Hamster Damm and visuals are produced by renowned photographer Darrin Zammit Lupi.
Pope Joan is produced by Teatru Malta and made possible with the support of Festivals Malta, The Malta International Arts Festival, Arts Council Malta, the Ministry of Justice, Culture and Local Government, the Restoration Directorate Rehabilitation Project, Goethe Institute, US Embassy and the German Maltese Circle. Shows will run from July 6-12, start at 9pm and end at 11.30pm and are suitable for audiences over the age of 13. For tickets and more information on Pope Joan visit www.kultura.mt.