DU` Theatre Group

Latest News

2008-08-19T22:00:00.010+02:00

Check out our new website

www.dutheatre.com

Il-Hadd fuq il-Bejt - 2008

2008-08-05T21:02:00.005+02:00

Palazzo De La Salle

Actors
Simone Spiteri
Magda van Kuilenburg
Franica Pulis
Victoria Vella
Jonathan Mamo
Antoine Zammit

The Malta Society of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce invited Du` to perform an animated reading of one of Francis Ebejer’s best scripts, Il-Hadd fuq il-Bejt, as part of a three-day celebration of the arts. The script was chosen because of its importance in the Maltese literature.
The reading included interventions by male actors, Jonathan Mamo and Antoine Zammit, who portrayed the male characters in Ebejer's play. Lara Vassallo accompanied the reading with her guitar.

Medea - 2008

2008-05-08T11:31:00.006+02:00

MITP Theatre,

Valletta Malta

Actors
Simone Spiteri
Magda van Kuilenburg
Franica Pulis
Victoria Vella
Kristjana Casha
in collaboration with Dominic Dimech

Musicians
Tim Ellis (piano/ vocals)
Chris Cini (violin)
Antoine Zammit (vocals)
Gilbert Micallef (vocals)

"Nishet lilkom u lil missierkom..."

Euripedes (translated by Prof. Oliver Friggieri)

Du` presents an all-female rendition of Euripides’ Greek tragedy of Medea. Using Prof. Oliver Friggieri’s translation, it is a cacophonic tale spun around betrayal, hate, devious revenge and a heart-wrenchingly insane climax. Medea is a scorned and betrayed woman by her husband, Jason, who had promised her eternal love. The sorceress Princess will stop at nothing to repay him back and is willing to stain her hands with blood, treachery and trickery at the expense of causing grief herself.
Medea taps into the dark and misshapen shadows of each one of us. It rests upon the ever Universal themes of jealousy, passion, hate, revenge and murder and, being a Classic, appeals to varied audiences.

Various other artistic collaborations made up the creative team: photographer Andrew Rizzo, graphic desginer Marie Louise Schembri (Emlu), Joseph Meli on light design, Claire Vella on set design. Adalia Bonanno created the production’s make up. The stagehands were Sandra McIntyre, Laura Fenech and Manwel Darmanin.

We would like to thank our sponsors: newspaper illum, Picturebox, Vodafone, Zigana and St James Cavalier

Il-Genn li jzommni f'sikti - 2008

2008-03-31T11:59:00.011+02:00

St James Cavalier,
Valletta Malta

Actors
Simone Spiteri
Magda van Kuilenburg
Franica Pulis
Victoria Vella

"Dak gurdien xih. Tarah kwiet kwiet, imma marjamadunni ma tridx tafdah harira..."
Kuncett gossiping about Trevor Zahra

Du` Theatre Group was invited to perform during the launch of Il-Genn li jzommni f'sikti, the autobiography of established Maltese author, Trevor Zahra. Four members of the group read and animated parts of the autobiography as well as bringing to life, one of the oldest (and probably earliest) duo created by Zahra: Kuncett (Magda) and Marinton (Victoria).

Another book was launched during the same night, Il-Hajja Sigrieta tan-Nanna Genoveffa, parts of which were performed by actors Marcelle Teuma (Genoveffa) and Joseph Galea (Genoveffa's grandson).

Franica Pulis

2007-09-17T14:02:00.000+02:00

Member since 2004
Actor, Producer, PR & Marketing, Accounts
24 years old, Haz-Zabbar

Junior Journalist with Maltese newspaper illum

B.A. (Hons) Theatre Studies graduate from the University of Malta

Obtained a certificate in Acting Skills after having studied Drama for 7 years at Mikelang Borg Drama Centre, Blata l-Bajda, Malta

Currently reading a Diploma in Management

Studied for a year Contemporary dance under Francesca Abela Tranter

Was in charge of two TIE projects: Ahna u Huma and Teaching Science through Drama, which is the title of the dissertation with which she graduated in 2004

Participated in the 5th European Theatre Encounter (EDERED) of Israel in 2000 and the 6th one of Hungary in 2002

Festivals and Workshops

2007-09-17T11:31:00.000+02:00

Du` Theatre has participated in the following Festivals:

2004: The National Malta Dramafest'04, Valletta, Malta
2005: The National Malta Dramafest'05, Blata l-Bajda, Malta
2005: The Meeting Place: A tribute to Hans Christian Andersen, HCA Bicentenary Celebrations, Esbjerg, Denmark
2007: Transit V: International Festival of Women’s Theatre, Odin Teatret, Holstebro, Denmark
2007: Meditations: A Festival of the Sacred Arts, organized by St. James Cavalier Centre for Creativity, Malta
2007: Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre, (CIFET), Cairo, Egypt
2007: Lo Sguardo, l'Anima e La Maschera, Sicily, Italy

...and the following workshops:

2006: Theatre @ Sunrise and Sunset, a 3-day workshop on Landscape Theatre led by English Nick Parkin

Photographer

2007-05-22T19:41:00.001+02:00

Andrew (Dru) Rizzo

www.andrewrizzo.com

EveryWoman 2007

2007-03-21T21:52:00.000+01:00

St. Catherine's of Italy Church, Valletta, Malta

Actors
Simone Spiteri
Magda van Kuilenburg
Franica Pulis
Victoria Vella
Kristjana Casha

Musicians
Michael Galea
Andrew Alamango

Songs & Voice work
Tim Ellis

“I pray you all give your audience
and hear this matter with reverence
by figure a Moral play
that of our lives and endings show
show transitory we be all day”

Everyman (anonymous)

Commissioned for Meditation: a Festival of the Sacred Arts, organized by St James Cavalier, EveryWoman uses as a starting point Medieval Morality and Miracle plays, in particular, texts from Everyman and The Chester Cycle as well as excerpts from The Bible. The performance revolves around the journey of "EveryWoman" through the thematic and metaphoric trials and tribulations of Christ during chosen episodes of His Passion, from a more mortal and since the cast is all female, also from a female perspective.

We meet EveryWoman at the beginning of her life when, young, naïve and pure, she is sent on a mysterious journey by four jocular, eerily mischievous and grotesque characters calling themselves by each Element (Fire, Water, Earth and Air).

What ensues is a cycle through which EveryWoman will stain, cleanse, purge and re-new her original purity with the help, and at times hindrance, of these four strange characters who lead her way. Set against the predominant themes of Temptation, Ceremony, Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord’s Passion, we will join this woman as, through a symbolic passage, she will experience these themes through episodic milestones inherent to any female’s life: puberty, marriage, childbirth and death.

THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES - 2007

2007-03-19T21:48:00.000+01:00

Actors
Magda van Kuilenburg
Simone Spiteri
Kristjana Casha
Franica Pulis

"We were worried about vaginas..."
Eve Ensler

A reading in commemoration of World Women's Day in collaboration with MMSA
Proceeds donated to Ghabex - a refuge for women & children who suffered domestic violence

Lacuna - 2006

2006-12-17T14:37:00.004+01:00

MITP Theatre
Valletta, Malta

Actors
Simone Spiteri
Magda van Kuilenburg
Franica Pulis
Kristjana Casha

Others
Victoria Vella
Jonathan Mamo

Musicians
Tim Ellis, Chris Cini
Michael Galea

Lightsperson
Joseph Meli

“X'imkien 'il boghod 'il boghod fejn tinxtamm biss riha ta` stejjer mitmuma...”
Trevor Zahra

Four women in an empty space who have nothing in common; who don't know who they are, where they are, who the other three are… and who they themselves are. Only one thing connects them- they all know how to sing the Santa Lucia until they find a way of how to remember...

Also performed

May 2007 at Sentinella, Citadella Gozo, part of Lejlet Lapsi - Notte Gozitana activities and the day after at MITP Theatre in conjunction with Trevor Zahra's book launch of Sepja, on which Lacuna is loosely based.
September 2007, performed twice, at Al-Tali'ah-Salah Abdel Sabour Hall during the 19th edition of the Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre (CIFET 2007) in Cairo Egypt. In that year 88 theatre groups from 51 different countries participated in CIFET.
December 2007, performed once at Sala Falcone in Borsellino Theatre during the 19th edition of Lo Sguardo, l'Anima e La Maschera in Ibla, Sicily. This year songwriter, singer and pianist Carrie and the Big Band Brothers participated as performers from Malta. The Festival was organised and directed by Arturo Mingardi.
May/ June 2008, commissioned to perform twice at Warehouse no. 8 in Marsa, Malta by NGO Il-Mahzen.
August/ September 2008, invited to perform in the 8th edition of the Amateur International Theatre Festival of Girona (FITAG 2008), Spain. This year 12 theatre companies are participating in this festival. 8 of them are Spanish. The rest are from Germany, Austria, Georgia, Iran, Italy, Poland, Russia and obviously Maltese.

Also invited to perform in

2007 Tunisia
2007 Rome, Italy
2008 Prague, Czech Republic

Check out:
http://www.fitag.cat/2008/eng/index.html

http://www.ilmahzen.com/warehouse/home.html

http://www.cdf-eg.org/English/exp_theater/index_e.htm

http://news.gom.net.eg/prog/2007/09/15/04.pdf?year=2007&month=09&day=15&page=04&submit=sous-net

We would like to thank MTA for sponsoring part of our flight tickets and the Egyptian Embassy in Malta for their precious help. We would also like to thank Il-Mahzen for choosing Lacuna as their first theatre performance for their project Warehouse no.8.

Weeds - 2006

2006-09-30T14:31:00.000+02:00

MITP Theatre
Valletta, Malta

Actors
Simone Spiteri
Magda van Kuilenburg
Franica Pulis
Annabelle Galea
Kristjana Casha

Musicians
Tim Ellis
Michael Galea
Neville Zammit

The Vilest Deeds like Poison Weeds,
Bloom Well in Poison Air
Oscar Wilde

A relatively minor poet, Housman’s work is simple, but yet, almost quietly chilling. Taking his nostalgic and often pessimistic poems as a starting point and setting it against the contrastingly extravagant exuberance of his era (mainly stimulated by the Edwardian Golden Age and great outrageous individuals like Oscar Wilde) an ideal background for an eerie concoction of black-humour, grotesqueness and wit which surrounds the peculiar characters we meet in the play, was created.

Three eclectic women, of quite different and eccentric temperaments receive an enigmatic invitation by the devious Madame Edda Withers. Enticed by a promised revelation of a secret and an outrageous proposition, this series of mis-matched characters flocks to Madame's abode which is over-seen by the mysterious and eerie Mrs. Staunch- without knowing they are all stepping beyond a pre-set threshold only the shrewd-hearted can survive. Looking through the magnified lenses of 5 people at the omnipresent themes of life, death and corruption the play tries to examine the fact that sometimes, ultimately some things fail to break the circular evolution of life and the people who inhabit it.

The Hollow Room - 2005

2006-09-30T13:02:00.000+02:00

in collaboration Aleateia
MITP Theatre
Valletta, Malta

The Meeting Place: A tribute to Hans Christian Andersen
Esbjerg, Denmark

Director/ Scriptwriter
Simon Bartolo

Actors Du`

Simone Spiteri

Magda van Kuilenburg

Franica Pulis

Victoria Vella

Actors Aleateia

Loranne Vella

Chris Galea

Sephora Gauci

Contact Us

2006-09-30T12:44:00.000+02:00

We invite you to leave a message on our blog, however if you prefer to send us an email, please do so on:

dutheatre@gmail.com

Links

2006-09-28T22:53:00.000+02:00

Artistic Links

www.creativeurope.com
www.andrewrizzo.com
www.aleateia.org
www.trevorzahra.com
www.vincebriffa.net
www.aitaiata.org
www.charlescasha.com
www.scaremongering.net
http://gedudu.blogspot.com

Other

http://zakzabbar.blogspot.com
www.aboutmalta.com

Our Sponsors & Contributors

www.teledeal.com.mt
www.nexoslighting.com
www.imagesystems.com.mt
www.mediatoday.com.mt
www.illum.com.mt
www.maltatoday.com.mt
www.sjcav.org.mt
www.mta.com.mt
http://campus.um.edu.mt/kku/index.html
www.jeanbannon.com
www.maltaculture.com

Rehearsals, Training, Workshops

2006-09-28T22:22:00.000+02:00

The group meets regularly on a weekly basis. Usually sessions last about 2/3 hours, twice or three times a week during the initial stages of the project. The amount of hours escalates the closer the group gets to the production week. During this climatic period, sessions may be as long as 6 hours daily. Projects take approximately 6 to 7 months to be completed.During the first period the group goes through a research process - exploring ideas, movement, voice, sound, music and visual images through workshops given out by the members themselves. The work is usually either 100% original or takes a pre-existing text or concept as a starting point. The group’s aim, however, is to always put on a personal stamp through our own tailor-made process.

Later on Simone, the Artistic Director, starts writing or assembling the text which is constructed around various sequences created during the workshops. The process is bilateral - either she writes the text using some of the sequences created as a springboard or it is the text/ parts of it which suggest the need for a particular sequence to be created.

Music comes in either in the final stages of the performance or half way through, depending on the project and what the text needs and suggests.

The group also seeks to create constant collaborations with artists from divergent artistic spheres. So far numerous Du` Theatre Projects have been in partial or total collaboration with photographers, visual artists, musicians and other alternative theatre groups. Moreover, the group also seeks to branch out to the International Arena of Theatre and Art and has so far participated in various Theatre Festivals around Europe.

Group members have also attended various local and foreign Master classes, such as Nick Parkin's workshop on Landscape Theatre, a practice the group keeps as a constant and important priority in light of the group’s and the individual performers’ artistic growth.

EVA – 2005

2006-09-26T21:19:00.000+02:00

National Dramafest’05
The Drama Centre
Blata l-Bajda, Malta

Actors
Simone Spiteri
Magda van Kuilenburg
Franica Pulis
Victoria Vella

Musicians
Tim Ellis
Philip Zammit

EVA entraps the symbolic character of Cleopatra and ensnares her in a sort of limbo, existing in a cloistered cocoon, eternally waiting for a cheating lover, living within a confined space in relation to her servants and most importantly herself. What one discovers is an intricately woven web of the complexity of womanhood who, in life, is admired as much as she is misunderstood. EVA departs from the Shakespearean mode of speaking and the text (written by Simone Spiteri) is taut, fast- paced and rhythmical.

The play starts in total darkness and two voices sing an ethereal song, a light grows slowly and we are introduced to the characters in this enclosed space. The same short piece of text is repeated three times back to back, which enables the actors to explore the same situation from three different but valid perspectives which seek to highlight the frustrations, hopes, frivolity, impudence and insecurities, amongst others, of womanhood.

CLEOPATRA: Her Infinite Variety - 2005

2006-09-21T20:34:00.000+02:00

The British Cultural Association’ Annual Shakespeare Commemoration ‘05
Music Room, St. James Cavalier
Valletta, Malta

Actors
Simone Spiteri
Magda van Kuilenburg
Franica Pulis
Victoria Vella

Musician/ Composer
Tim Ellis

We focused on one particular scene from the Bard’s last tragedy/ history play: Antony and Cleopatra, involving Cleopatra and repeat it three times back to back, each time with a different take on her essence as suggested by the various academics throughout history. The scenes, all depicting the messenger’s deliverance of Antony’s new marriage to Octavia (Act II Scene V), will not, however, be presented as three fragmentary pieces but will be presented as a whole without ever halting the action from one ‘Cleopatra’ to the other.

Moreover, the three different ‘Cleopatra’- renderings will not be segmented because we want to explore the possibility that Cleopatra is neither of the viewpoints presented by the scholars but rather an embodiment of all of them. This will, hopefully, highlight what W.H. Clemen thinks of Cleopatra: that “She is neither solely queen, nor solely harlot, nor solely witch, but unites in her person all these contrasting natures”. This in turn would further illustrate what Enobarbus aptly describes as Cleopatra’s “infinite variety”.

POLLEN - 2004

2006-09-21T18:32:00.000+02:00

National Dramafest’04
St. James Cavalier’s Theatre
Valletta, Malta

Actors
Simone Spiteri
Magda van Kuilenburg

If they know nothing of victory, they are at least spared the knowledge of defeat.
Oscar Wilde

Time is witness to Man’s eternal struggle for equality, which over the millennia came in various forms and ways. But yet, ironically enough, this struggle was always paralleled by another equally continuous one to distinguish oneself from another on many levels. So are the ‘victoriously’ Conscious
supreme over the unaware? Or does the latter’s lack of knowing about the existence of a better palate make them better off than those who know the palate but failed to taste it?

This 30 minute piece tries to explore the relationship which exists between these two ‘states of being’ and the strange but yet vital way in which they have to co-exist. By creating a dichotomous connection between the mundane and the conceptual the piece tries to look at the separate but yet common path each ‘entity’ must take.

The Musicians

2006-09-17T21:10:00.000+02:00

From left to right:

Tim Ellis
(Main composer/ pianist/ vocalist)

Chris Cini
(violin)

Michael Galea
(drums & percussions)

We have also collaborated with Philip Zammit (double bass), Neville Zammit (mandolin), Andrew Alamango (oud) and Chris Porter (violin).

The Actors

2006-09-17T21:01:00.000+02:00

From Left -
Magda van Kuilenburg
(props)

Victoria Vella
(costume designer, tailor)

Franica Pulis
(Producer, PR & Marketing, Accounts)

Simone Spiteri
(founder, scriptwriter, artistic director)

Kristjana Casha
(props)

We have also collaborated with Marie Louise Schembri, Aleateia, Annabelle Galea, Andrew Rizzo, Antoine Zammit, Tiziana Farrell, Antonella Seguna, Toni Attard, Jonathan Mamo and Joanna & Andreana Boldarini on different occasions during our projects.

Group Statement

2006-09-17T19:02:00.000+02:00

Du` Theatre Group (Malta) was founded by Simone Spiteri in 2004.

Du`s strong point is in the diversity of its members. Each member has a different theatrical baggage which results in a harmonious complementation of the other members' different experiences and which is ultimately a key to an enhanced theatrical process. The latter, in fact, is Du`s chief aim, which seeks to highlight the performer’s own process and considers it as the fulcrum of any performative act.

The word “do” in English literally means: “to perform, effect, transact, bring about, work at, work out, provide and prepare”, which is exactly what a Du` performer strives to achieve: a performative act as a result of meticulous and disciplined preparation. Du` is literally a Maltese phonetic version of its English counterpart “do”. This is because although Du` always tries to keep an open eye for global artistic and cultural approaches it never wants to move away from its own cultural roots.