A study of postcolonial drama in Malta

Abstract

For almost two centuries Malta was a British colony. During this period it developed an active theatre which, unlike the situation in most colonized communities as described by postcolonial criticism, used a local language as its main means of expression. Most Maltese playwrights continued to write their plays in Maltese even after their country became independent, and therefore after the Maltese language had outlived its utility as a weapon of resistance against a formal foreign colonizer. The thesis traces the development of Maltese drama and theatre in the nineteenth and early twentieth century but its main focus is the drama of the post-independence period, when playwrights became more daring both in the views they held and in the form they gave to their plays. It discusses in detail the major themes which recur in Maltese plays from 1964, when Malta gained its independence from Britain, to the present day, thereby evaluating the various playwrights' position of commentators on their country's history, politics and social values. It is shown that many of the subjects that interest Maltese playwrights, such as history, power, family structures and theatrical life, are also present in many important plays originating in other postcolonial situations. Likewise, Maltese drama shares with other postcolonial drama a stylistic engagement with the western canon, which is analyzed in detail in the last chapter.