December 20, 1989. The US invades Panama. Around 4,000 Panamanians are killed, mostly in the poorest districts of Panama City. Known as Operation Just Cause, its key objective was the capture of dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega and the establishment of a democratic government. US troops surround the building and bombard it. Noriega flees the invasion and seeks political asylum in the Vatican Embassy.
The Devil’s Advocate, by playwright Donald Freed, is the meeting of two strong personalities – General Noriega and Monsignor José Sebastian Laboa, the Vatican’s ambassador to Panama. Both are the product of their times. Noriega is the puppet of the US, on the CIA payroll since the late 1950s, dealing and double-dealing with the US and its allies as well as its opponents. Mgr Laboa is the Grand Inquisitor charged with doing the Vatican’s dirty work.
Both have a lot of political baggage, both are victims of their times and circumstances. Now fate has brought them together for a few hours, and both seek redemption in each other. Both characters are engaged in a long game for supremacy over the other, each with his own agenda.
The two-hander is being staged by Unifaun Theatre Company at St James Cavalier as from next weekend, with actors Manuel Cauchi playing Mgr Laboa and Paul Portelli as Noriega and directed by Michael Fenech.
Unifaun founder Adrian Buckle states that this play is a very intelligent study of contemporary politics.
“It shows how dirty politics can be, but then, in Malta, we tend to take that as a given. Here we see how American policy builds these Frankenstein’s monster-like characters like Noriega, Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein, only to be forced to invade a country and kill innocents to get rid of the monsters. I think some eyebrows will be raised, and some will nod knowingly.”
According to Mr Buckle, in this play, there is no “goodie” or “baddie” but different shades of grey, and it is up to the audience to decide what to make of the characters and the situation.
“Moreover, there is the added bonus of the Maltese connection to it. Mgr Laboa was Nuncial Representative to Malta and the priest who actually welcomed Noriega to the Episcopal Building in Panama was my old friend Fr Joe Spiteri. When on holiday here, Fr Joe met us and talked to us about what actually happened in those days. It was very interesting,” he adds.
Mr Buckle chose to produce this play after Paul Portelli suggested it to him.
“I don’t want Unifaun to be only about me. If someone comes to me with a good project, it is very likely that I’ll take it on board, energy permitting. I liked the script immediately and so agreed to the production. Also, the possibility of working with someone of Michael’s experience was very tempting,” he says.
Veteran actor Manuel Cauchi admits that playing real-life characters is never easy but it is always a challenge he is happy to take on:
“The best part of any actor’s work is that exciting voyage of discovery you embark on in the hope of learning about others when in reality it is learning about yourself. The courage and humility of stepping into someone else’s shoes and trying to see the world through their eyes has always been and remains one of the greatest insights into the self. And I think all of us are on the right track in this production,” he says.
Director Michael Fenech says that the play charts a visually exciting journey into the minds and feelings of the protagonists.
“It is a very intense piece of theatre, touching the whole range of human emotions. Yet it does so honestly and without melodrama. Rehearsals are hard work, because the text is so demanding, but it is always great to work with people like Manuel, Paul and assistant Franco Rizzo, who are constantly contributing to the development of the characters and the interaction between them,” he says.
Mr Fenech says that, apart from watching two of Malta’s best actors practising their art, the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy the input of other artists, including Pierre Portelli, who devised the set, and Chris Gatt, who is designing the lights. Sound engineer Michael Quinton has created a soundscape which subtly becomes a third presence in the play.
The theatre at St James Cavalier allows the experience to be an intimate communion between the audience and the actors – they are close and very vulnerable.
According to Paul Portelli, the production should be an exhilarating rollercoaster ride for audiences.
“It is a very powerful, skilfully written text that should capture and sustain an audience’s attention. Funny at times, painfully bitter in moments, it lays bare before us the souls of two men locked in a battle of wits,” he says.
Mr Portelli says it is always an exciting privilege to get underneath somebody’s skin.
“As with any other character I play the moment. I enjoy the sadness, gut-wrenching fear, sometimes funny, tragic, sad cocktail compressed into a furious one-and-a-half hours. The challenge, as with any other character, is to be totally present, true to the moment. I’ve also had to reach deep, deep inside myself and go to places I never knew existed, to help me breathe life into this character,” says Mr Portelli.
The Devil’s Advocate is being staged at St James Cavalier on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and on March 27-29, and April 3-5. Tickets may be obtained from the booking office by phone on 2122 3200 or by e-mail:boxoffice@sjcav.org.