Kappillan ta' Malta

Monsarrat's international best-selling novel finally hits the local stages. Adapted by award-winning author Immanuel Mifsud, Il- Kappillan ta' Malta is not only a story about Malta, but also of a unique, charismatic and driven priest, Father Salvatore - or Dun Salv, as his devoted parishioners call him. As bombs poundMalta to dust, he finds himself caught in the cataclysmic drama of World War Two. 

The story is set during the siege of the British possession of Malta from June, 1940 until August, 1942. He is the son of Baroness Celeste Santo-Nobile who reigns in aristocratic splendor despite the perils surrounding them. Lewis, his brother-in-law, is an Italian sympathizer whose allegiance will land him in prison before the war is over. But Fr. Salvatore remains a simple, lumbering parish priest serving the poor. When his church is bombed he establishes his congregation in the catacombs which now serve as a 24 hour air-raid shelter. In the fragile safety of catacombs revealed by the explosions, he tends to the flood of homeless, starving, and frightened people who sought shelter from the death that fell unceasingly from the blue skies, giving messages of encouragement and hope inspired by the brave history of the Maltese islands. His story, and that of the island, unfold in superbly graphic scenes during the siege.

During the course of the war, Fr. Salvatore is removed by his superiors because of the conduct of his flock in the primitive conditions of the caves and because his own role has grown too ‘exalted’. At first he rebels against the discipline but finally accepts the chastisement in seclusion at a monastery in Gozo. To his people he remains a hero. The Daily Express described him as one of the most memorable characters of postwar fiction. Now, we will have him grace the Maltese stage during this years ARTS FESTIVAL, to be presented at the Pjazza D’Armi, Fort St. Elmo, Valletta on the 25, 26, 27, 30 July and 1 August.

The production is produced by Staġun Teatru Malti in association with Teatru Manoel and is part of the Malta Arts Festival.