Traditionally, on Celebration Day, the school always stages a theatrical performance. Our school has always done this and every year it has put on a high-level production. At first there was a period when every year a production was put on based on a script written by the assistant head, Mr Raymond Muscat. This was always an original production that conveyed a message to mull over. A film about the lives of young people was shot based on the script written by the same assistant head today in the context of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ. Undoubtedly, this was something very original and very challenging to do but the end result was very encouraging. Another year, a production was staged on a script written by the students based on various Maltese legends woven into one story. It took the form of a musical, and since then, year after year, famous musicals began to be performed, including Les Miserables, The Lion King, Sister Act, and others. They also led to not only these performances being staged on Celebration Day but also being opened to the public. This was a comment from the writer Trevor Zahra after watching one of the musicals: “… really impressed. Scenario, costumes, acting, clarity in singing, timing … everything was perfect and I felt transported. Not only did the lion become king, but the entire production team managed to ascend to the throne.”
Ever since the drama group began pursuing a course in Performing Arts in collaboration with MCAST, it has started to stage its third production in the year. This is an original production based on a script written by the students themselves on a current topic that often evokes many feelings that young people of the same age as our students go through. These productions dealt with sensitive topics like the holocaust today, mental illness and not being bothered to show who you really are. These were short but intensive productions. Often they are based on mime and the narrative emerges from a continuous choreography, all done by the students themselves. These productions are then followed with a discussion among popular figures who among the guests were the President of Malta, politicians, members of the European Parliament, professors and people who have gone through certain experiences in life. Mark Laurence Zammit, a popular presenter who kindly offered to lead the discussion for each of these productions, said: “The production was impressive and moved me in so many ways, because of its thoughtfulness and courageous spirit. I’ve seen much more complex theatrical and television productions, but very few of them managed to impress me as much as your production.”
All this will undoubtedly further strengthen the success of Benedittu Productions and will encourage us to look forward to staging more performances at our school.
Mr K. Scicluna