Vincent Vella admits he is obsessed with power. He speaks to Alex Vella Gregory about his latest play which tackles an episode in recent history that is still taboo.

What makes someone a traitor? That is the core issue behind Vincent Vella’s new play Bogħod mill-Għajn. Vella’s play deals with an episode in our recent history that is still taboo, namely the arrest and exile of 43 prominent pro-Italian Maltese citizens in 1942.

Vella is certainly no newcomer to the theatre scene. He already has several plays and radio-plays to his name, several of which have won great acclaim.

He has also placed regularly in the Francis Ebejer Awards for Maltese Theatre, as well as having won three times the European Prize for the BBC World Service Competition for Radio-Playwriting Competition. But apart from theatre, he is also “obsessed with power”.

I must admit this made me uneasy, but Vella qualifies his statement. He is obsessed with the effects of power, and fascinated by how human beings are drawn to it. Indeed, it is a common thread that links a lot of his work, not least Bogħod mill-Għajn.

Tackling recent history is always tricky, especially when the subject matter is so close to our times. The exile of these 43 Maltese citizens is still an issue which draws passionate reactions, especially since a lot of their relatives are still alive today. It betrays the great divide that is still present in Maltese society between those who had been pro-Italian and those who supported Britain.

Vella, in his typical concise manner, asks a very simple question; “Should a monument be set up for these exiles?” It is impossible to answer it.

Were they simply patriots who wanted to get rid of British colonial rule, or were they Fascists prepared to give away Malta to Italy at the first opportunity? Even if they were, does it justify their detainment and exile without trial?

Throughout his extensive research, Vella was surprised at how many people reacted. He was even accused by some for being too lenient to his subjects. But Vella is adamant. “It is not my role to judge anyone. I am concerned with telling a story, and then the audience can decide.”

Vella is also very conscious of the need to bring audiences back to theatre, especially Maltese theatre. He admits that after Francis Ebejer, Maltese theatre lacked good writers. This in turn resulted in a concerted snobbery by Maltese audiences who turned away from original Maltese theatre. The upshot was that Maltese theatre got replaced by low-quality British comedy.

Is the current situation as bad as it sounds? Vella concedes that recent theatre in Malta has changed considerably, especially when it comes to quality international theatre. Yet he feels Maltese theatre is still lagging behind, and that only now we are starting to face our demons.

I play devil’s advocate and ask him outright whether we actually need Maltese theatre if we have quality international theatre that is so easily accessible.

His answer is simple and direct:“Għax aħna, aħna”. It is untranslatable, but the closest one can get is “Because we are who we are”. He believes only Maltese theatre can really touch our collective psyche. “We are still afraid of facing our demons, and end up repeating the same mistakes.”

I ask him about censorship, and he replies with a hint of sarcasm, “If a censor can read a play and remain immune to its perceived obscenities, so can we. Or is there some special talent, perhaps a gene, that makes him/her specially equipped to deal with obscenity?”

So who or how can one judge a play? “Time will tell,” he replies. “As long as a work is there to discuss and reassess and not to incite hatred, everything is acceptable.”

So, what makes someone a traitor? Clearly Vella is not concerned with answering this question, but with making his audience figure it out and a lot more besides.

Boghod Mill-Ghajn shows at The Manoel Theatre, Valletta, on Saturday and Sunday.