At this time of year, Tony Bezzina is usually preparing for a 22-night sold-out run of the Christmas pantomime at the Manoel Theatre.

But with its cancellation due to COVID-19, the artistic director of Masquerade Malta has had to think a little differently to ensure that the show must go on.

And so on Thursday night, just four actors will take to the stage to perform an adaptation of Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol in front of an audience a sixth of the theatre's usual size.

"It's a shame really to see the theatre like this when, had it been the panto, it would have been jam-packed," Bezzina said during dress rehearsals this week. "But the scope behind it is to get people back into the theatre, to gain confidence with coming here and feel at ease."

Social distancing rules mean a tight restriction on the number of people watching the beloved tale of how cold-hearted businessman Ebenezer Scrooge changes his ways. 

A theatre that has a full capacity of 623 will have an audience reduced to fewer than 100 people each night. 

Bezzina explained that the production team also decided to adapt the story to reduce the cast down to just four performers, which will be safer for the actors, backstage and to keep to the protocols. 

The cast comprises actor Paul Portelli, as Scrooge and Tina Rizzo, Joseph Zammit and Melissa Mercieca, who will take on different roles throughout the performance.

The Manoel Theatre can seat more than 600 but fewer than 100 people will be in the audience for A Christmas Carol due to social-distancing rules. Photo: Mark Zammit Cordina

Director Ian Moore, who has delivered a vast array of productions, explained that he found himself thinking back to when he used to showcase performances at schools.

“You cannot have a big set and you have to have a much smaller team, so I found myself going back to the same process and procedures I used to perform a play at school and adapted it here," he said.

“We want the audience to feel safe and to gain confidence coming back to the theatre, a theatre which has all the necessary safety protocols. There are a number of other performances which are being planned and we want to ensure that the theatre can be a safe environment for everyone,” he explained. 

Most of the eight nights are fully-booked - a sign perhaps that people are keen to support the local theatre scene despite COVID-19.

“We felt a relief coming back to the theatre, following the process of putting a show together,” Bezzina said

“This year has been disappointing for many, we have seen many shows and pantomimes cancelled, hence seeing that we are getting such good feedback is the first step to a major recovery and hopefully with the vaccine, although it is hard to predict the future, we hope to be in full swing next year.”