Attention all theatre lovers! Teatru Malta is keeping you entertained with its streams of past performances and this week, it’s time for Gawgaw – the Panto in the Dark.

Back in 2018, Teatru Malta put up its very first panto in the dark at Esplora and it was nothing live we ever experienced before. It was done in collaboration with the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) and put the audience in a completely audio-sensory world, essentially putting them in the shoes of persons with visual impairments. The actors performed in a different room and everything was recorded live and streamed into the audience’s headphones, who were seated in a dark room.

Teatru Malta’s Gawgaw had such a rave success that “the panto in the dark series has developed into a niche project of performance theatre in the dark, with L-Imbuljuta A Panto in the Dark being staged in December 2019 at Spazju Kreattiv,” the theatre company’s Alessia Caruana tells us.

Gawgaw is being streamed as part of Teatru Malta’s initiative Teleteatru that they launched in the wake of COVID-19, and is its the fourth episode.  “It was definitely an initiative created in reaction to the pandemic quarantine regulations. We launched it in March with the intention of giving audiences the opportunity to enjoy the magic of theatre from inside their homes. If we can't go to the theatre then why not bring it to everyone else?” she tells us.

“Afterall we are the national theatre without walls so this really tested our core ethos and put it to the test as our main obligation is to bring theatre to all audiences, small or large in Valletta or in a village square. This time, our stage has transformed into everyone else's home.”

And get this! Teatru Malta is also working on another project in the dark but is upping its game to create a musical in the dark. As if! “This is being developed together with the original cast and crew, directors and writers Marta Vella and Vikesh Godhwani but with the addition of composer Luke Saydon who’s working hand-in-hand with the original team to bring the theatre in the dark magic to a musical setting.” Oooh! Something awesome to look forward to!

Watch the promo here:

Interested in checking it out? The stream can be accessed here. The stream will be available from 9pm this evening, until Friday 15^th May.