A theatre producer and director testified in a libel case filed by Maltese actress and Occupy Justice activist Pia Zammit over a front page story on It-Torċa, linking her to Nazism.

Edward Mercieca, a producer, actor and educator in performing arts, took the witness stand on Thursday in proceedings sparked off by the article, based on a photo of Ms Zammit wearing a Nazi costume.

That picture, later described by the actress herself as one of “hundreds of photos” taken backstage during theatre performances, was linked to a production of the wartime comedy ’Allo ’Allo, a popular BBC sitcom of the 1970s, staged at the Manoel Theatre in 2009.

This was confirmed by Mr Mercieca who, upon being shown a copy of the newspaper cutting, said the company had got Nazi and army costumes specifically for the play. 

The backstage photo was just a light moment shared by actors before going on stage, said Mr Mercieca, adding that whoever wrote the article “did not know the difference between theatre and real life”.

Theatre director Chris Gatt, the applicant’s husband, said he had been directing the comedy at the time the photo was taken.

“The problem of it all is saying that the photo is controversial. I can’t see how,” said Mr Gatt. 

“It shows the actress in a spy costume. I still cannot understand where the controversy lies.”

In that performance, Ms Zammit had landed the role of Michelle Dubois, a member of the French Resistance, whose task was to trap the Nazis and save the French people.

Testifying earlier on in the proceedings, the actress had said that of all the insults she had received in the past two years, being called a Nazi was the worst.

The case continues. 

Lawyer Joseph Zammit Maempel assisted the applicant.