London’s Margaret Howard theatre college to stage musical in Malta

One of the UK’s leading theatre schools – the Margaret Howard Theatre College – is gearing up to stage musical Once On This Island in Malta at the start of the summer.

The show will feature a cast of 20 up-and-coming performers who are flying in from England specifically to present four shows at the St James Cavalier theatre. Among them are eight Maltese students currently working their way through the three-year course at the London-based college.

Margaret Howard, the founder of the Margaret Howard Theatre College, explains that she has developed an excellent working relationship with Malta, and is eager for some of her students to showcase their work here.

“The fact that eight of our students will be performing ‘at home’ is a very special event,” she says, adding that she also has similar professional links to Ireland, Spain, France and Bulgaria.

“Performing in Malta is a ‘thank you’ to our Maltese friends for their support and an opportunity to widen our friendship base. We also hope that it will give our students’ family and friends the chance to watch these amazing young people at work.”

The cast will be performing Once On This Island – a musical written by Lynn Ahrens and with music by Stephen Flaherty. The show is often regarded as a cross between Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. It is set in the French Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean, and tells the story of a peasant girl on a tropical island who uses the power of love to bring people of different social classes together.

“Once On This Island is a lovely show with some great music and it tells the everlasting story of passionate love in an impossible situation,” continues Ms Howard. “The audience will enjoy a few hours of good entertainment, watch a cast of young people displaying their talents with live music and support a host of Maltese students. It's a show worth seeing and an evening of guaranteed enjoyment.”

Once On This Island will be performed as part of the Spazju Kreattiv programme, at St James Cavalier on Thursday 2 June at 8pm, Friday 3 June at 8pm, and Saturday 4 June at 4.30pm and 8pm. It is being directed by Kevin Fountain, with musical direction by Jordan Li-Smith, choreography by Helen Conway and Holly Penny, and lighting design by Chris Gatt. 

For ticketing information, please visit: http://www.kreattivita.org/