Harold Pinter's Il-Maħbub tal-Mara (The Lover)

For our friends and fans of Upstart Productions Drama Company who have been impatiently looking forward to our next play, don’t think that we have forgotten you. Certainly not! After the preparations of Spring and Summer, wait no longer, our production has arrived: an intriguing work by one of England’s leading playwrights, and for those who prefer theatre in the Maltese language, Jane Zammit (our Director) has translated it into Maltese: Harold Pinter’s Il-Maħbub tal-Mara (The Lover). When this play first ran in 1963, the Financial Times of London had described it as a “dazzling little play.” But this will be the play’s premier in Maltese, and set now in present 2018 Malta. In the contemporary context of sex and power relationships between men and women, Il-Maħbub tal-Mara (The Lover) looks at the relationship between a couple, Sarah (Simone De Batista) and Richard (Sandro Vella), whose domestic life has grown weary and they seek to inject some passion into their relationship. However, they do so through means one might not expect! We are not here to judge or to point fingers. If a monotonous marriage was your life, what would you do? In this play, we are forced to examine relationships between the sexes, and the possible exploitation of one individual over another; yet we also may come to comprehend the nature of the careful balance of power, or imbalance, in relations between men and women. This extraordinary play is one themed for our typical productions: it is a play where one realizes, and indeed empathizes with, the vulnerabilities of our human nature. At times, we feel sorry for the protagonists; and at other times, we are very much amused by their efforts and methods. As we try to understand the situation placed in front of us—which, sometimes, may be similar to our friends, or neighbours, or our parents, or children—perhaps the circumstances more portray ourselves in the privacy of our own homes! In the first part of the play, Sarah’s lover remains a mystery. Is it possible that Richard likes being a cuckold? Or, as we come to understand, will Richard try—and succeed, to get rid of the lover at any price? Or, has Sarah cleverly drawn Richard into her net? Performances begin 20:00 on Saturday-Sunday 17th-18th November 2018 at The Black Studio, Malta School of Drama and Dance, Hamrun (gate entrance to venue, opposite PN Party Headquarters). Tickets: 12€, by mobile: 9942 1415 / 7946 0527 / 7934 6304 & at the door. Email: ejclemmer@gmail.com Facebook: Upstart Productions Drama Company.