A bilingual story of a modern woman in a historic land

Borma Tbaqbaq: Il-Lingwa tal-Kċina (the language of the kitchen) focuses on Josie, a Maltese-Canadian lawyer who returns to Malta to defend a man accused of murder. The play explores themes of identity, history, and the experiences of women shaped by colonialism and patriarchal structures. Written, produced, and performed by Angele Galea, Valerie Buhagiar, and Pauline Fenech, it combines courtroom drama, mythology, and reflections on Maltese diaspora life.

MaltaToday speaks to Angele Galea about the origins of the play and its focus on Maltese identity and womanhood. She explains that she approached Valerie Buhagiar during the pandemic, as they had already worked together in the past. “We began talking about the challenges we both face in our respective countries, as artists and as women, and soon realised how deeply our Maltese heritage intertwined those struggles.”

She continues that the pair reflected on what it means to “carry Malta within you once you leave the baggage of colonial history, of small-island mentality, of patriarchy, and how it all continues to shape one’s sense of self abroad.”

Galea says her writing partner, Buhagiar, grew up in Canada as the youngest of six children in a family that struggled with language. Her experience of never feeling fully Canadian or fully Maltese shaped the story’s exploration of belonging and identity. She adds that Pauline Fenech then joined the project, bringing the perspective of a timeless, guiding figure, while the play follows a character who returns to Malta, confronts her heritage, and faces local social norms.

Photo by Elisa Von Brockdroff

Borma Tbaqbaq: Il-Lingwa tal-Kċina, (The language of the kitchen) points to the ways women’s voices have historically been contained. Galea explains that the kitchen has been both a refuge and a space of restriction for Maltese women. “For over seven centuries, Malta’s identity was defined by others. Women bore that burden even more heavily—denied education, property, the vote, even the right to read in church until the last century. The kitchen became a space where we could express ourselves, but within limits.”

Through the production, the team hopes to highlight both the constraints and the resilience of women across generations. “Even today, society expects women to perform perfectly in work, motherhood, and domestic life. The scars of colonisation and patriarchy take centuries to fade. But we persist.” The play presents a range of female experiences. From the immigrant mother who followed her husband abroad to the journalist striving to be heard, and the nun who rebels through her spirituality, each character gives voice to different forms of strength and struggle. Overseeing these narratives is the figure of the goddess, a matriarchal presence who traces continuity and change across centuries.

Galea explains that the writing process involved collaboration with academics and activists, including Norbert Bugeja, Charmaine Zammit, Anna Borg, Phyllisienne Vassallo Gauci, Nadia Delicata, Marcelline Naudi, and Omar Rababah. Together, they examined the representation of women in Malta, the experiences of immigrant women, and society’s responses to both visible and invisible forms of violence. She describes how these discussions helped shape a script that encourages reflection beyond the stage.

Galea also performs in the play, portraying both Josie’s mother and the mother of the man on trial. “Both women are bound by love and suffering. One is an immigrant raising children in a foreign land, the other a mother clinging fiercely to her son. Playing these roles has been an act of deep empathy, confronting the contradictions and humanity within motherhood itself,” she says.

The Maltese-Canadian lens of the play reflects the duality of leaving and returning, of longing and belonging. “So many Maltese left not because they wanted to, but because they had no choice. They carried Malta with them in food, faith, language, and memory. That ache of departure and pull of return runs through every fibre of the play. It is a love letter to Malta and a challenge to her.”

The core of the story asks the question as to whether a silence woman and a colonised island can find their voices together. Galea hopes that audiences will leave with a sense of pride in Maltese heritage and recognition of women’s resilience.

“Our heritage, our language, our land, our ancestry was handed to us through generations of sacrifice. It is a birth right, not a burden. Our collective memory lives in our bones, and we must ensure the next generation inherits a Malta they can root for, one that listens, speaks, and breathes with dignity,” she says.

Directed by Tyrone Grima, Borma Tbaqbaq: Il-Lingwa tal-Kċina, will be performed at Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, Santa Venera from 28-30 November and 5-7 December 2025.