POPE JOAN
Teatru Malta teams up with the Malta International Arts Festival to bring you one of the most disputed stories ever told.
A prodigy who chooses to defy all odds is born into a highly conservative male dominated world. She is defiant and determined, secretly learning to read behind her father’s back by disguising herself as a boy to further her learning at a monastery where she’s accepted as a male monk. Pope Joan tells the story of a woman who will stop at nothing to claim the freedom and power that is rightfully hers, and follows her journey to becoming, as legend has it, the first and only female pope to have ever lived.
This story will be brought to life by a fantastic team of actors, led by seasoned director and dramaturg, Irene Christ. Feminism, gender identity, religion and several other themes are addressed. This is the kind of theatre that fuels discussion and we like discussion.
In partnership with the American Embassy, the German Maltese Circle, Goethe Institute, Malta International Arts Festival, Arts Council Malta, and Restoration Directorate Rehabilitation Projects (RPO)
Ticket Info
€ 20 / € 18 (konċessjoni)
Cast & Actors
Maria Buckle: Joan
Faye Paris: Hrotrud (midwife), Richhild, Empress
Antonella Axisa: Gudrun (Joan’s mother), Theda (Bishop’s lover), Madalgis (sick woman), Ennodia (wife of chief physician in Rome)
Chris Galea: Joan’s Father (village priest), Benedict (brother of Pope Sergius), Flunkey
Peter Galea: Gerold (Joan’s lover)
Mikhail Basmadjian: Arsenius (nobel man in Rome)
Alex Weenik: Anastasius (son of Arsenius):Theodorus (Anastasius’ uncle)
Alan Paris: Aesculapius (teacher), Benjamin (physician), Pope Leo
Joe Despasquale: Bishop (in Dorstadt), Pope Sergius, Daniel (army commander)
Michael Mangion: Odo (head of school), Abbot Rabanus, Emperor Lothar
Stephen Mintoff : Matthew(Joans eldest brother), Messenger (Bishop’s messanger), Gottschalk (monk), Aio, Arsonist
Ileana Cutajar: Young Joan
Julian Zammit: Young Anastasius
Miguel Azzopardi: John (Joan’s brother)
CHOIR
Capella Sanctae Catharine lead by artistic director: Alex Vella Gregory
Production Team
Director: Irene Christ
Novel: Donna Woolfolk Cross
Stage adaptation: Susanne Felicitas Wolf
English translation: Victoria Martin
Production Designer: Joachim Hamster Damm
Head of Music: Alex Vella Gregory
Projections and Photography: Darrin Zammit Lupi
Head of Make Up: Karen Schembri Grima
Production Coordinator: Gabija Kazlauskienė