On November 1 and 2 (today and tomorrow) a selection of Malta’s finest actors will take to the Teatru Manoel stage for Għażiż Francis, a play that celebrates the life and work of Malta’s most important playwright and novelist of the mid to late 20th century: Francis Ebejer.
Għażiż Francis weaves together a series of memories and thoughts about Ebejer together with extracts from his plays and novels. Originally written and staged in 2007, the play centres around two characters, Peter Busuttil and Pino Scicluna, who engage in a conversation that explores their personal encounters with Ebejer, interwoven with animated scenes from some of his most memorable plays, poems and other writings.
In the original production, Busuttil and Scicluna played themselves, and this time round Sean Borg and Davide Tucci will take on those roles. Directed by Peter Busuttil, Borg and Tucci will be joined on stage by an ensemble of top-tier Maltese performers.
Francis Ebejer is perhaps Malta’s leading dramatist from the second half of the 20th century and is still celebrated posthumously as one of the island’s most prolific writers. Ebejer was a novelist, playwright, and screenwriter, who wrote in both English and Maltese.
He often translated his own work between the two languages and also had many of his works translated into other languages such as French, Italian, Spanish, and German. His works for the stage have been praised as ground-breaking in the Maltese theatre scene, often pushing boundaries of what was expected of the genre whilst also using it to comment on Maltese society and identity.
Għażiż Francis was first staged in 2007 as part of the Malta International Arts Festival and is being revived to commemorate the centenary of Ebejer’s birth in 1925, with the production touring various localities in Malta in 2025. This production is dedicated to all those who knew, worked and argued with Francis: his actors, his directors, his translators, and his students.
Research, adaptation, and scriptwriting for Għażiż Francis is by Marco Galea, with music by Andrew Vella Zarb. Performances start at 8pm. For more information on the performance and the cast, and to book your tickets, visit www.teatrumanoel.mt or call the Box Office at (+356) 21246389.
