Ahead of the performance of Sempreviva l-Musical at Msida Bastion Historical Gardens this month, Esther Lafferty talks to FRANCESCA SCERRI, the driving force behind The Kettle Club who are proudly presenting this brand-new show.

Francesca Scerri founded The Kettle Club in 2019 as a community venture, with a vision to ensure musical theatre for everyone and to provide a place at which to discuss new ideas in musical theatre.

“Until now,” she explains, “we have performed well-known numbers with a twist and so it is very exciting to be presenting our first original show.”

Although she has directed numerous staged performances and has herself performed in a number of shows, this is Scerri’s debut as the producer-director of a fully-fledged original musical.

“It has been very interesting to be on the other side,” she smiles. “I’ve stretched myself and learnt so much about myself as a director. I really enjoyed taking a very collaborative approach, developing the story and lyrics together with all the performers and building the show together.”

Sempreviva l-Musical, a musical about the beauty of life and death performed in Maltese, is based on a book by novelist Trevor Zahra who was awarded a National Book Prize Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature in 2020. 

“I was keen to produce an original musical in Maltese and, rather than invent a story, I thought it would be great to use one written by one of Malta’s talented authors,” explains Scerri.

“When I contacted Trevor to ask about using one of his works, he was delighted. Of his titles, Sempreviva – a collection of short stories – called out to me. I’m somewhat of a patriot and I chose this book because the stories explore the role of flowers in our lives: each includes Maltese flora so that as well as producing a show in the Maltese native tongue, we’re celebrating local nature and educating our audiences about the beauty of our traditional countryside.

“The book is a collection of over 50 short stories and it would have been impossible to include them all! Thus, the performers and I read the stories and shortlisted our favourites before deciding on which ones to focus on, and how to weave them together in a show. We incorporated four of the stories into a main thread based on my selected story – L-Anġlu tad-dlamijiet – just as there’s beauty in life, there’s also beauty in death,” she continues. 

The show is called Sempreviva after a flower that lives forever – sempreviva literally means always living, and a motif in the script, is “X’tiswa fjura li ma tmut qatt?”(what is the worth of a flower that lives forever?)

It is proven time and time again that there is no point living in the past and with Sempreviva l-Musical, we’re encouraging our audiences to embrace the present- Francesca Scerri

Clint Chircop plays Orren, the show’s key protagonist, a talented actor who is making his musical theatre debut supported by Karl Bartolo, Charlotte Formosa and Sean Borg, all experienced performers in musicals with big casts, and Lara Agius, who all interpret multiple characters.

These include Cara, Orren’s dead wife who was the love of his life; Bianca and Albert, two gossipy family members; and a girl, Riza, whom Orren becomes fond of because she reminds him of Cara, giving him a sense of purpose. The show also brings the flowers to life, with a daisy, rose and – of course – a sempreviva, who narrate the story.

Orren, the owner of a flower shop, is still sadly living in the past, madly in love with his late wife Cara who adored flowers. The Angel of Death comes to him, warning him that once the last flower in the shop has perished, his time will come. Orren therefore decides to plant sempreviva to cheat death.

Set in a flower shop, the audience will watch Orren’s business and his life sink into decline – from many types of flowers, he is left only with the sempreviva, a reflection of his own life shrinking down to a single obsession with living and staying alive.

“Lots of people will be able to empathise with Orren and his loneliness,” says Scerri, “but we’re asking if is this living, or simply existing, and what purpose it serves.” 

The show includes nine original songs, co-written by Scerri and the performers, with the New Victorians providing guidance on the musical production. These include a variety of moods from bright, to deep and pensive, and include a power ballad by Orren as he confronts his impending death.

Creatively staged, with a focus on the story, the mood of the musical is ethereal, ranging from the magical and romantic to an ominous monotony. You should expect some dramatic moments of adversity, and to find yourself questioning your choices in life. 

“Life is beautiful because it isn’t eternal,” smiles Scerri. “It is proven time and time again that there is no point living in the past and with Sempreviva l-Musical, we’re encouraging our audiences to embrace the present.

“With Robert Spiteri as musical director, we are positive that each note from this musical will hit any age or gender,” she concludes. “Some will feel happiness, some will feel empathy and some will feel bittersweet. We cannot wait to share this roller coaster of emotions with you.”

Sempreviva l-Musical runs from June 28-30 at Msida Bastion Historical Gardens, with support from Arts Council Malta. Tickets are available from kettleclubmalta.com/sempreviva.