The Manoel Theatre Academy of Dramatic Art : 1977-1980

Abstract

The Manoel Theatre Academy of Dramatic Art (MTADA) was Malta's first formal theatre and acting school. It was set up in 1977 through a Technical Cooperation Agreement between the British Council, the Ministry for Education, and the Manoel Theatre.The Academy was placed under the direction of Adrian Rendle, a theatre practitioner from England with considerable experience both as an amateur director at the Tower Theatre, an important amateur theatre group in London and as a professional theatre maker with the Theatre Royal Stratford Atte-Bow company and on the London West End. A former teacher at the Webber Douglas and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, amongst others, Rendle also delivered workshops in a number of former British colonies, including Zambia and Uganda. He was soon joined by Peter Cox, who was engaged as a Theatre-in-Education (TIE) Coordinator, aside from also serving as the Academy's Assistant Director.