THEATRE
curtain call
CHARLOTTE GRECH is a freelance Features Contributor and Drama Teacher who has established herself as a regular fixture on the Maltese stage since she made her debut in the late 1980s. Her next appearance will be in Unifaun’s Dario Fo comedy double bill at Teatru Manoel later this month. What have been your most memorable parts so far? have been involved in acting since I was 17 – that’s a very long time. I’ve been lucky to have been challenged by a lot of roles from Panto to classics to more contemporary stuff. Every role is different and when you’re on stage, it’s eyeopening every time. It is a very humbling process really. Some roles which I feel truly privileged to have played are Clytemenestra, Juliet, Piaf, Helena in As You Like It, Lady Macbeth, Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors, and Mia in Immaculate. Looking back, I can say that I have tried my hand at many different tasks... some worked, others didn’t. I keep coming back to the tasks I truly love. Meanwhile, becoming a mother along the was the cherry on the top!
I TOOK UP ACTING BECAUSE I WAS VERY SHY, BUT ALSO ALWAYS EAGER TO TRY NEW THINGS. I WANTED TO HAVE A GO AFTER SEEING A GOOD FRIEND SUCCEEDING ON STAGE Is it correct to say that you have reduced the frequency of your appearances in recent years? If so, what was the reason? I never stopped appearing in plays but there was a natural slowdown due to the fact that I, like some other actresses in my age bracket, do not fit into the roles of plays currently being put on. With our own theatre group, Theatre Anon, I don’t feel constrained with age issues when portraying roles as a lot of the performances are devised pieces. Also since my partner is also an actor, we sometimes have to take it in turns. Someone has to do the childminding!
Why did you take up acting in the first place? I took up acting because I was very shy, but also always eager to try new things. I wanted to have a go after seeing a good friend succeeding on stage. I joined drama school, took several courses, and as they say, the rest is history. I would like to keep on going, as much as physically possible, but I also would like to co-direct 36
FIRST MARCH 2014
and learn ‘new tricks’. There is still life to come, one always hopes...
Did you ever feel typecast or constrained at any point in your stage career? Never. I have played such a wide variety of roles that it never occurred to me.
Do you have any memorable or amusing anecdotes from your theatrical life so far that you can share with us? Plenty. I distinctly remember about to go out into a scene without making the appropriate costume change. In the wings, the backstage crew had a good laugh. I remember going up a ladder which was not fixed properly in Kiss me Kate and I was literally swinging along the top of the Manoel stage throughout a song.
What’s your theatrical ambition?
There are roles I would have liked to play, in Antony & Cleoptra, in a lot of Ibsen plays, and in the play Lorca. But it’s pointless sulking about it. “Onwards we go” is my motto and sharing a love of theatre, in whatever form, with others will always be top of my priority list.
Tell us about the plays you’re currently in. I haven’t done a farce in a long time. It’s all down to timing it right and of course being believable. It’s great fun with such a mad and rowdy cast and director! This is theatre which is very taxing as your mind has to remember lots of stuff as well as be ready to deal with stuff coming at you, not necessarily the scripted sort. You have to be very very sharp.
Is it your first experience with Unifaun Productions and with the director Chris Gatt? It’s my first time performing with Adrian Buckle’s Unifaun productions. It took me a long time to get there. But I’ve worked with Chris Gatt before. He’s a veteran, equally at home doing classics, Shakespeare, pantomime, musicals and farce. It’s always great fun working with him – he knows how to get the best out of each actor and story.