Carnival and Power: Play and Politics in a Crown Colony

317 Pages·2018·3.491 MB·English

by  Vicki Ann Cremona

Transnational Theatre Histories
Series editors
Christopher B. Balme
Institut für Theaterwissenschaft
Ludwig-Maximilans-Universität
Munich, Germany
Tracy C. Davis
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL, USA
Catherine M. Cole
College of Arts and Sciences
University of Washington
Seattle, WA, USA
Transnational Theatre Histories illuminates vectors of cultural exchange,
migration, appropriation, and circulation that long predate the more
recent trends of neoliberal globalization. Books in the series document
and theorize the emergence of theatre, opera, dance, and performance
against backgrounds such as imperial expansion, technological develop-
ment, modernity, industrialization, colonization, diplomacy, and cultural
self-determination. Proposals are invited on topics such as: theatrical trade
routes; public spheres through cross-cultural contact; the role of multi-
ethnic metropolitan centers and port cities; modernization and modernity
experienced in transnational contexts; new materialism: objects moving
across borders and regions; migration and recombination of aesthetics and
forms; colonization and decolonization as transnational projects; perfor-
mance histories of cross- or inter-cultural contact; festivals, exchanges,
partnerships, collaborations, and co-productions; diplomacy, state and
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spectives on capital, finance, and administration; processes of linguistic
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omnilocal vectors; developing new forms of collaborative authorship.
Series Editors: Christopher B. Balme (LMU Munich), Catherine M.
Cole (University of Washington), Tracy C. Davis (Northwestern).
Editorial Board: Leo Cabranes-Grant (UC Santa Barbara, USA); Khalid
Amine (Abdelmalek Essaadi University, Tétouan, Morocco); Laurence
Senelick (Tufts University, USA); Rustom Bharucha (JNU, New Delhi,
India); Margaret Werry (University of Minnesota, USA); Maria Helena
Werneck (Federal University of Rio de Janiero, Brazil); Catherine Yeh
(Boston University, USA/ University of Heidelberg, Germany); Marlis
Schweitzer (York University; Canada).
More information about this series at
http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14397
Vicki Ann Cremona
Carnival and Power
Play and Politics in a Crown Colony
Vicki Ann Cremona
University of Malta
Msida, Malta
Transnational Theatre Histories
ISBN 978-3-319-70655-9 ISBN 978-3-319-70656-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70656-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018930503
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
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Cover illustration: The Carnival Ball at the Governor’s Palace: The Minuet Dancers
Saluting the Throne W. Hatherell, R. I. from a sketch by A. Gascoigne Wildey, R. N.
Printed on acid-free paper
This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature
The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
To my father, Anthony who gave me my love of books, my thirst for knowledge
and the perseverance to go beyond what is obvious.
To my mother, Blanche, who provided warmth, optimism, cheerfulness as
well as determination and dedication.
To both for their boundless love and support.
P
reface
The Maltese islands, known as Malta, are a tiny archipelago in the
Mediterranean, which may either be seen as situated at the periphery of
Europe, eighty kilometres below Sicily and three hundred kilometres off
the North African coast, or as the navel of the Mediterranean, given their
central location. Two islands are inhabited: Malta and Gozo, with a total
population of approximately 437,000 and Malta is the smallest member of
the European Union. Colourful festivities are an integral part of Maltese
life, and Carnival is celebrated across the two islands, particularly in the
two capitals: Valletta in Malta and Rabat (Victoria) in Gozo.
I have always enjoyed Carnival. When I was a young girl, my little
brother and I were regularly taken to the Valletta Carnival by my mother
and grandmother. At home, we had photos of my parents, aunts and
uncles in Carnival costume, and my mother’s sister, Marie, participated in
the students’ floats. I loved the merry atmosphere in the streets, the floats,
the costumes, and the dancing in the enclosure, as well as the childrens’
fancy dress parties at the Każin Malti, and at the Malta Hilton, which had
just opened. In the 1970s, my family no longer went to watch the Carnival,
which had become a much poorer version of what it had been in the 1960s
and early 1970s. Having lived abroad for several years, I came back to
Malta in the 1990s, after Carnival had again been moved to February.
Since then, I have only ever missed the celebrations when I have travelled
abroad to visit other Carnivals. Thanks to two students, Beatrice Cachia
and Simon Gatt, I discovered the Carnival in Gozo. As a theatre scholar, I
have been very interested in the evolution of the Carnivals in the two
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viii PREFACE
islands in contemporary times, and have written various articles about the
subject.
Meanwhile, as is usually the case with research, while looking for some-
thing completely different at the National Library, I fell upon a political
article, written in the nineteenth century, that exploited the Carnival cel-
ebrations to denounce British policies. This led me to delve deeply into
Carnival during the period of British occupation, discovering tons of
material that deserved to be written up—stories, descriptions, poems,
anecdotes, but also social realities and political conditions that emerged
from beneath the various layers of celebratory fun and delight. I also found
that my background in theatre helped me note important elements that
were often ignored by historians or simply mentioned in passing, but
which, I felt, deserved closer examination. I was strongly encouraged to
pursue this line of research by past rector, Peter Serracino Inglott, and was
helped by a substantial number of students who opted to do their summer
work poring over old newspapers in the National Library. Dr Michael
Frendo, the former Minister for Culture, provided added encouragement
by commissioning a documentary on contemporary Carnivals in Malta
and Gozo.
I was very lucky to be welcomed as a visiting scholar at Lucy Cavendish
College, University of Cambridge which provided a haven of peace and
intense study, where the project for this book really began to take shape.
The days buried in the University Library, surrounded by myriads of
books, and the wonderful time in the rare books section are memories I
treasure deeply. I am particularly grateful to Dr Anna Sapir Abulafia, who
at the time was Vice-President of the College, for her warm welcome and
interest in my project, as well as to Professor David Abulafia, who had sug-
gested I spend my sabbatical carrying out my research at the university.
Reading so many different sources, and writing about a subject I am
passionate about, has led me to think very deeply about my identity. I am
a Maltese whose parents tried emigration, but opted to return to the
island. I speak English with—as some British are fond of pointing out—an
accent that is, as Homi Bhabha would say, ‘right but not quite’, even
though I have never been very clear about what is, actually, ‘quite right’,
given the countless accents in the British Isles and the US; that is, if one
opted to momentarily ignore all those in the colonies where the English
language was perhaps the principal imported cultural product. Yet I have
seen this criterion being used as a form of protectionism for the preserva-
tion of certain international key positions—fortunately, from an observer’s
PREFAC E ix
standpoint. The work for this book, and my life experiences, have led me
to reflect on contemporary ways of defining ‘hegemony’ and my readings
have brought me to great masters in the subject whose writings have made
me think very deeply about my country’s past and present, and whose
teachings have profoundly influenced my own writings.
I write from the standpoint of a convinced European who is puzzled by
the discourse of distinction, rather than unity, that is being pursued at a
European level at the time of writing, and am often tempted to examine
this from a theatrical perspective. This book may serve as a model to pur-
sue new research, as the carnivalesque invades new political territories.
I end this short reflection with the thanks that are due to all those
people who have helped to make this book happen.
Msida, Malta Vicki Ann Cremona
N.B. I have opted to preserve the original spelling of all quotations, espe-
cially those in old Maltese. I have also maintained the ways newspaper
titles were originally written.
All quotations from Maltese or Italian have been translated by myself,
unless otherwise specified.
a
cknowledgements
My biggest, heartfelt and most grateful thanks go my dearest friend, Prof.
Paul Clough, who has patiently read, discussed and criticised various drafts
of parts of this book, and whose support and wise scholarly advice has
proved invaluable. I also thank Prof. Tracy Davis who believed in my
work.
I would also like to thank my family: my father, for helping me with my
research at the National Library; my mother, for having copied out bits of
rare documents; my brother George, for having listened to and read bits
and pieces; my niece Francesca, for her time, interest and encouragement;
and my nephew Andrea, who patiently helped me through all the prob-
lems my computer temperamentally decided to spring on me from time to
time! My grateful thanks go Elaine Grech for kindly typing in my biblio-
graphical data on to a bibliographical manager, and to my dear friend
Lenore Micallef, whose help with regard to the bibliographical details—
that so many of us loathe—was indispensable (yes, even computers don’t
always put full stops and commas exactly where and how one wants
them!!!). A huge thank you goes to Marguerite Pace Bonello, who so
generously helped me in working out my index.
My grateful thanks go to the numerous persons who have helped in one
way or another: Prof. Henry Frendo, who was always available to discuss
certain historical points; Prof. Carmel Vassallo, for his time and his books;
Marquis Nicholas de Piro, who very kindly went through countless boxes
to find the right items and data I needed from the wonderful collection at
Casa Rocca Piccola; Judge Giovanni Bonello, whose knowledge and data
were of enormous help; Dr Albert Ganado, for giving me free rein to
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