Almost 50 years ago, a very different Malta found itself in the midst of a crisis when around 200 bakers went on strike.

Although the strike only lasted a few weeks, it caused ripples in Maltese society, which found itself staring in the face of a bread shortage.

A new theatrical production by Dù Theatre, Ħobżna ta’ Kuljum, is launching tonight at the Valletta Campus Theatre and is taking people back to the events of 1977.

Written and directed by Simone Spiteri, the play doesn’t focus on the bakers per se but uses the strike as the backdrop for the story of a regular Maltese family facing hardship and social change.

She was inspired to write the play after stumbling across a BBC podcast about the bread strike and realising how little she knew about this period of Maltese history. She then carried out further research, including interviews with people who had lived through the period.

The cast includes Daniela Carabott Pawley, Mary Rose Mallia, Lino Mintoff, Magdalena van Kuilenburg, Kristjana Casha, Thomas Camilleri, Rachel Pecorella Genovese and Matthew Dimech Genuis, with original music by Luke Saydon.

The production is performed in Maltese, but the shows on 19th and 27th September will feature English subtitles.