The Manoel Theatre’s artistic director says he has “not been allowed to function” in his role and has not been consulted by the board over any aspect of the theatre running despite being under contract until April 2023. 

Kenneth Zammit Tabona told Times of Malta on Saturday he has been completely sidelined and not been involved in the running of the national theatre in any way. 

His comments come amid controversy after Mario Philip Azzopardi’s play Ix-Xiħa was cancelled, weeks before it was to be staged amid outcry over the inflammatory portrayal of a character moulded on murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. 

Politician and playwright criticises cancelling of Mario Philip Azzopardi play

Following the decision to cancel the play, the artistic community called for the theatre to appoint an artistic director to ensure the Manoel is effectively managed. 

His comments come amid controversy after Mario Philip Azzopardi’s play Ix-Xiħa was cancelled, weeks before it was to be staged amid outcry over the inflammatory portrayal of a character moulded on murdered journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia"

But when contacted, Zammit Tabona was adamant there is no need for an artistic director because he still occupied the role.

“I am still artistic director although I am no longer being involved,” he said. 

In October, the Manoel Theatre issued a call for a new artistic director, but the advert was withdrawn within hours. At the time, the management had said Zammit Tabona had not been sacked but would be moving over to Festivals Malta so that he can oversee the Baroque Festival.

Zammit Tabona insisted he was not consulted on Azzopardi’s play and in fact, he had been the one to advise the board against staging the play over two years ago. 

“Now, the board decided to stage the play without consulting me. My objections were not just about Daphne, although that was largely part of it. But it was also because it was full of foul language. “I couldn’t imagine people would want to sit through two whole hours of that,” Zammit Tabona said. 

The artistic director said he had spoken out about the way he had been sidelined several times and now hoped the issue will be addressed shortly, although he did not elaborate. 

Termination letter sent out

When contacted, Manoel Theatre CEO Massimo Zammit said a termination letter had been sent out to Zammit Tabona to inform him he was no longer artistic director. Times of Malta has seen a scanned copy of this letter although permission to publish it was not granted on grounds of data protection. 

According to Zammit, a memorandum of understanding was signed outlining that the International Baroque Festival was to be moved under the responsibility of Festivals Malta. In light of this, Zammit Tabona was transferred to oversee this festival and it was at this point that he ceased to serve as the Manoel’s artistic director, Zammit said. 

But Zammit Tabona said he had not received any letter and all he had in hand was a note from JobsPlus saying he had changed jobs. 

“I never changed jobs and if they claim there is a termination letter, that is not true. My contract will only be terminated when I receive a letter from the chairperson saying that I have been fired. I have yet to receive such a letter,” he said.  Zammit Tabona said he is ready to take the issue to court if the theatre insists on terminating his contract before April 2023.

Attempts to contact Culture Minister Owen Bonnici, who just took over the ministry following the general election, proved futile.