Welcome to the world of Porn!

The story so far…

In 2008 Maltese scriptwriter Malcolm Galea caught up with the equally Maltese composer Kris Spiteri and the somewhat less Maltese music producer Boris Cezek with the intention of creating a musical. This show was only ever meant to run over two weekends at a theatre in the backstreets of Valletta and the writers’ main intention was to see how well they worked together. Another aim of theirs was to enjoy themselves – and if the audience had a good time also, it would have been an added bonus.

At some point, someone suggested Porn the Musical as a possible title. For reasons that no-one can remember anymore, nobody disagreed  and so the writers set about creating the story of Stefan Bugeja – the hapless young Maltese man who leaves his island home and follows his dreams to America. Once there, he swiftly and unwittingly gets embroiled in the porn industry, falls in love with a porn star, and single-handedly saves his beleaguered studio from bankruptcy. The tone of the show was to have all the wide-eyed wonder of a Disney movie while poking fun at musicals and adult movies alike. Auditions were held in November 2008 and about twelve people showed up.

On the 6th March 2009, Porn the Musical opened at the Mediterranean Institute Theatre Programme (MITP) in Malta’s capital Valletta. The original cast, although amateur, had enough enthusiasm and energy to keep the audience enthralled for the full two-hour duration and a third weekend had to be opened. And so it came to pass that after nine shows, the final blackout (there was no curtain) fell on Porn the Musical for the last time.

But alas ‘twas not to be… Maltese film producer Winston Azzopardi happened to be among the audience and was enamoured by the show. He approached the writers with a lot of big producer-type talk and before anyone knew it, they found themselves on their way to London to meet the god of all things musical: Cameron Mackintosh. Impressed, intrigued or merely amused by the boys’ effort, Sir Cameron offered them some financial aid to take the show to the Edinburgh Fringe and, thanks to some further assistance from the Malta Arts Fund, Porn the Musical was suddenly being prepared for Edinburgh.

Two songs were dropped and the script was trimmed down to fit into the 75-minute time frame, and the festival version of Porn the Musical was then tested with a seven-day run at Argotti Gardens in Floriana in July 2009. After that, the production moved to the George IV Theatre for a full run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2009. The Maltese cast held their own against the professional actors that were featured in most of the other musicals and when the dust cleared, it was found that the show had garnered mostly 4-Star reviews and was also nominated for Best New Musical.

Even though it didn’t win, the writers of Porn the Musical couldn’t believe their luck – particularly as producers seemed to come out of nowhere everyday to offer the musical a run at a multitude of other fringe venues. In the end it was decided that the musical will next go to the London Fringe via Theatre503.

And so it came to pass that Porn the Musical was produced in London throughout April 2010 – sadly shedding the faithful Maltese cast in favour of experienced West End actors who went on to do a wonderful job. The show was also restored to its pre-Edinburgh length with a couple of extra songs and scenes thrown in for good measure. Yet again, the audience reaction was fantastic and the writers were blown away with the mostly 4-Star reviews – particularly when the musical was named Time Out Critics’ Choice.

The latest news is that Porn the Musical has once again been nominated for Best New Musical – this time for the Off West End Theatre Awards.

It’s uncertain as to exactly when the Porn journey will end but one thing is for sure: this little show that started off on a tiny island in the middle of the Mediterranean is making some waves and its creators are really grateful for the adventure so far.

For more information about Porn the Musical, feel free to browse through our reviews and check out some of our music samples. Should you need more specific information, the CD with the original cast recording may also be purchased from here and you can feel free to contact us directly.