‘White Sea’ focuses on those stories of women who role as and develop through, multiple female characters, from daughters to admirers to lovers. As Malta’s industries depend on its harbours, there are a large number of women today, as in the past, who experience distant relationships with their fathers, lovers, or husbands. This vocation often creates a male figure that is iconic rather than tangible. Consequently, the female characters develop in his absence and his appearance, therefore, assuming a significance, not unlike a checkpoint. The Captain comes to mark incremental developments in the women’s characters. And though he is calm and stable, it is because of him that they are thrown into a spiralling journey of petty conflicts, fantasy, and endless pursuit.
One male and two female protagonists lead on the audience through this non-verbal visual theatre performance. Expressed through mime and abstract performance styles, with stylised props and lighting, ‘White Sea’ explores the various male/female relations between an often absent Sea Captain and those women left in his wake.
July 2010. St. James Cavalier Theatre, Valletta. Duration: 50 minutes.
Director Jimmy Grima Performers Rebecca Camilleri Ira Melkonyan Sound Designer & Composer Mario Sammut Visual Artist and Costume Designer Matthew Pandolfino Research Liam Gauci Romina Delia Timmy Gambin
photos – Rubberbodies
“I find this show outstanding because as collaborative art it is excellent. The ever-changing lighting, music composition and execution, timing of animated props and the versatility of the costumes were so harmonious that their fantasy world was readily believable.”
Narcy Calamatta, theatre director, actor and playwright