The Hot House (Is-Serra)
Role : Director
Written by Harold Pinter, translated by Simone Spiteri.
Commissioned and produced by Teatru Malta – Malta’s National Theatre Company.
Performed at Mount Carmel Hospital Community Theatre – April 2018
Reviews
‘Although I have long admired Agius’s acting, this is the first time I have watched a piece that he has directed and I must applaud the choice. The production possesses a strong visual and aural coherence that not only strongly underlines the ideas in the text but makes them resonate with meaning for a 20th century audience in Malta.’ – Times of Malta (Full Review)
‘I can’t say I have any critical points for this production. The actors were spectacular, the translation was beautiful and the direction was excellent. […] Truly a masterpiece.’ – Tpespis Art Reviews
‘A very good job – what struck me the most was the level of the actors and the innovative way the space was used. Congratulations for giving dignity to Maltese theatre.’ – Corazón Mizzi, Maltese singer-songwriter
Audience-Reactions
In Teatru Malta’s inaugural season, André was selected to be the first director of the ‘Young Director’s Programme’, launched by the company as a training platform for Maltese directors. He was commissioned to direct a Maltese-Language Translation of Pinter’s The Hot-House (Is-Serra).
Pinter’s modern classic, dared to dissect the inner workings of an ill-managed mental institution, where the “patients” are actually political dissidents undergoing various excruciating corrective treatments, showing the casual inhumanity and corruption that creeps into institutional authority and festers beneath anodyne bureaucracy.
Cast
Roote – Victor Debono
Gibbs – Mark Mifsud
Miss Cutts – Maria Buckle
Tubb – Joe Depasquale
Lobb – Anthony Ellul
Lamb – Benjamin Abela
Lush – Kurt Castillo
Crew
Mentor – Irene Christ
Assistant Director – Emma Micallef
Set Design – Romualdo Moretti
Sound Design – Luke Cucciardi
Light Design – Christopher Gatt
Costume Design and Props Manager – Nicole Cuschieri
Make-up Design – Mandy Abela u Jonathan Mallia
Hair Design – Michael & Guy
Choir – Stage Coach, under the direction of Abigail Brown
Stage Manager – Sarah Grech
Sound Technician – Sergio Costa
Light Operator – Dominic Attard
SFX Manager – Orlando Zammit
Fight Choreographer – Nikovich Sammut
Set Builder – Claudio Apap
Backstage – Martina Farrugia, Bernardette Vassallo, Luca Xerri, Stefan Carl Magri
Photos by Elisa Von Brockdorff
Production Trailer