An actor has started the year by cutting off her own hair in front of a live audience as part of an interactive theatre performance.

Sandie von Brockdorff took a pair of scissors to her hair on New Year’s Eve during the opening night of 1881 – an immersive performance by Teatru Malta in which the audience does not just watch but actively participates in the show.

The play is set in an alternate universe, where a laughing plague has brought about the end of the world. Starting at Villa Bologna, the audience is encouraged to follow and interact with a cast of eccentric characters who are all dealing with the apocalypse in their own way.

Von Brockdorff plays Eve, a member of the Sisterhood of the Madonna of Retribution, who believe they can cure the plague by fighting the devil. To progress from being a novice to a priestess, she must shave her hair.

The actor said director Sean Buhagiar approached her with the idea during rehearsals.

“I was very hesitant at first, but I also believe that a performance is richer when you fully commit to a role," von Brockdorff said. "So after doing some research and speaking with friends, I decided to take the plunge. Shaving my hair has also been on my bucket list for a while. I was inspired by a woman I met while travelling, who shaved off her hair as a way to control the male gaze. When she wanted attention, she would wear a wig."

Because she was using scissors, the end result was patchy, so after the performance her fellow actors took turns shaving her remaining hair.

The actor added that the drastic makeover could have negatively affected her chances of getting cast in other roles, but because she is a full-time member of Grupp Teatru Malta, the national theatre company’s ensemble, she has guaranteed work for the coming months.

“I think all women should do it at least once in their lives,” she said, adding that she had donated her hair to charity.

Buhagiar said the idea came about after studying similar religious rituals in Asia.

“I felt that the aesthetic fits the sisterhood, where women priestesses are spiritual fighters,” he said.

1881 will be running for the next three months, although von Brockdorff will be wearing a wig onstage from now on.