THIS HALLOWEEN… THE PHANTOM GETS A DAME

marco4073
6 minutes ago
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THIS HALLOWEEN… THE PHANTOM GETS A DAME

Hoi Polloi Theatre Company opens the doors to a brand-new Pantoween musical at Teatru Salesjan

Valletta, 1886. The Royal Opera House is preparing for its most spectacular season yet. There is just one problem. A mysterious masked figure is roaming the theatre after dark. And an even bigger one… The Dame has arrived.

This Halloween, Hoi Polloi Theatre Company presents The Panto of the Opera, a brand-new original musical bringing together the mystery of the Phantom, the spectacle of musical theatre and the glorious chaos of traditional pantomime.

Written and directed by Marco A. Calleja, the production plays at Teatru Salesjan, Sliema, on 30 and 31 October 2026, with additional performances planned subject to demand.

Behind the curtain…

The year is 1886 and pressure is mounting at Valletta's Royal Opera House.

Its new patron, the Viscomte de Chagny, expects perfection. Rehearsals are anything but. Egos are colliding, backstage chaos is mounting and whispers are spreading about a masked figure haunting the theatre.

At the centre of the mystery is Christine Daaé, a gifted young performer whose voice has caught the attention of someone lurking in the shadows.

Enter the theatre's larger-than-life Manager — The Dame — and suddenly the Phantom has a problem he definitely wasn't expecting.

Expect big musical numbers, live music, spectacular choreography, larger-than-life characters, Halloween thrills, audience participation and plenty of panto madness as the company races towards opening night.

And somewhere behind it all is the question at the heart of the production: What's behind the mask?

Meet the company — but not quite yet…

The production brings together a company of established and emerging Maltese performers, including Matthew Grech Margueret, Leah Mifsud, Gabriel Magro Delia, Katherine Brown, Graziella Debattista, Jalen Manicolo, Lara Agius, Denise Bezzina, Joe Depasquale and Marco A. Calleja, together with an 11-member singing and dancing ensemble and a live five-piece band.

And audiences won't have long to wait to discover who is who.

One by one, the inhabitants of the Opera House will step out from behind the mask as the production's digital campaign unfolds in the run-up to Halloween.

First out of the shadows?

The Phantom.

A new world of Pantoween

Following Hocus Pocus – The Pantoween in 2025, Hoi Polloi Theatre Company returns to Halloween with an entirely new story.

The creative team is building a world that mixes Victorian Malta, gothic mystery and the colour and excess of pantomime. Alongside Calleja as Writer and Director, the production features Musical Direction by Christine Vella, Choreography by Warren Schembri Bonello and Costume Design by Louie Noir.

Surreal artist Gabriella Azzopardi has also joined the production's publicity campaign, creating three individually hand-painted masks that complement the show's costumes, make-up and central visual theme.

Because in this Opera House, every mask has a story.

More than 200 tickets in four days

The audience response has already begun.

Following the official poster reveal on 1 August and the opening of public booking on 5 August, more than 200 tickets were booked in under four days.

Three performances are currently on sale across Friday 30 and Saturday 31 October, with additional performances on Sunday 1 November planned subject to demand.

An Early Bird offer runs until 21 September.

And because this is Pantoween, audiences are encouraged to make a night of it: come in costume, go trick-or-treating before or after, and make The Panto of the Opera part of your Halloween weekend.

Over the coming weeks, the curtain will continue to open through character reveals, rehearsal footage, behind-the-scenes content, costumes, music, a promotional film, media appearances and an October flashmob.

The journey has started. The masks are on.

And this Friday, the Phantom steps out of the shadows.