“Inside the Gloom they talked and laughed and sang for many hours,
Until outside the sun sank low and set between the flowers.”
Billed as “a broken fairy tale for broken people”, The Trials of Magnus Coffinkey, written by Angele and Malcolm Galea, premiered at Spazju Kreattiv last weekend. The play offers audiences a madcap romp through the wonders of the imagination.
Masterfully directed by Philip Leone-Ganado, this adult fairy tale is a multi-layered story that alternates between two narratives: the first centres around the travails of bell-maker Magnus Coffinkey (Joseph Zammit), a sensitive man with a literal broken heart who finds himself in the Land of Gloom after falling to his death from a belltower.
Along the way, Magnus meets an array of sumptuous characters, including a mischievous gargoyle, a musical spirit called Harmony, and a cold-hearted milliner (all played by Becky Camilleri). The alternate plot deals with the grief-stricken creators of Coffinkey’s tale, a Storyteller and her husband, Jeremy – both of whom find healing, love, and redemption through their artistic process.
This was the first time that the husband-and-wife theatre-power-duo co-wrote a show, and the couple was kind enough to describe their process. For Angele, writing together “was a beautiful game of ping pong with our creative brains, planning plot points, characters and emotional arcs”.
The show explores the profound theme of stillbirth and grief, and as the couple had experienced a miscarriage in 2008, working on such a piece together was healing.
The pair made the audience chuckle, gasp in horror, and shed tears
Malcolm further explains: “Owing to the nature of the subject, we felt that it needed a distinct female perspective – from the conducting of the research right to the resolution of the story.”
Angele adds: “It’s a mirror of the both of us at once. Magnus’s character brings both the female and male outlook of such traumas and portrays the vulnerabilities that needed to come out.”
And Malcolm concludes: “We wanted to create a piece that could be soothing to parents of babies who were born sleeping – while also giving others an accurate insight of what the couple goes through.”
The performers’ portrayals of their roles were extraordinary. Camilleri performed actor-acrobatics: like a chameleon, she seamlessly shapeshifted from role to role (and she played eight!). Her performance as the anguished Storyteller was heart-rendering. Meanwhile, Joseph Zammit’s performance was bloodcurdling and evocative.
He made the audience gasp in awe more than once with his visceral performance and physical prowess. It was stunning watching the chemistry between the two. Throughout the show, the pair made the audience chuckle in breathless laughter, gasp in horror, and shed tears in sorrow – truly, a tour de force.
Director Philip Leone-Ganado employed many innovative techniques in the production. Actors performed in the round, and the Storyteller often broke the fourth wall.
The set was kept to a minimum, with the main piece, the representation of the bell, taking centre-stage and attractively lit by Chris Gatt. Costumes (Angele Galea) were delightful, with suggestive pieces that allowed for the inventiveness of the actors to shine through.
The ethereal piano score and songs (Angele Galea) cast spells. All elements of the theatrical production combined holistically to give the audience a thrilling experience.
In an interview, Galea sheds light on the nature of fairy tales and humanity: “Fairy tales for children have a particular impact; when they hear a fairy tale, they learn something about the wolf: there’s a fear, there’s a horror, there’s joy, and it shapes the way they think about life, sometimes for many, many years to come.
“The Trials of Magnus Coffinkey is a fairy tale aimed for grown-ups, so the same wonder and horror that children feel when they hear Little Red Riding Hood will be felt by the audience.”
All in all, The Trials of Magnus Coffinkey was a rousing, spirited ride for artist and spectator alike. We hope there are future productions of the drama and more brilliant theatrical productions created by this very talented team.