“The Normal is the good smile in a child’s eye—all right. It is also the dead stare in a million adults. It both sustains and kills—like a God.”
-from Peter Shaffer’s Equus
The Horse and the Rhino: A Fatal Normality by Anton Bonnici
Writing Groups
Workshops
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Become a hopeful participant in a creative community searching for an alternative way to engage with theatre, the world and the future.
The 2024 Writing Group Project is currently closed for submissions.
TAILORED WORKSHOPS FOR COMPANIES AND SCHOOLS MAY BE ORGANIZED UPON REQUEST.
GET IN TOUCH FOR MORE INFO
antonbonnici@ofpottersdemons.com
The Process
Excavate Explore Emerge
for a liberating & empowering theatre
ANTON BONNICI is a teacher, playwright, and dramaturge who aims to infect the world with as much enthusiasm for impactful play writing and theatre making as humanly possible. Over the past three years he has dedicated his creative efforts to develop the Not Theatre theory and practice in tandem with the Writing for the Stage courses. He also leads a bi-monthly online international writing group and travels giving theatre workshops with the intention of building an alternative community of purposeful theatre readers, writers and makers who are committed to bring about political change.
Bonnici’s main theoretical influences are the 20th century theatre legacies left by Bertolt Brecht and Antonin Artaud, and the performance practices developed by Augusto Boal. He is currently a lecturer at the Sorbonne Nouvelle, where he teaches on the Theatre of the Absurd, at the Sorbonne Paris IV where he teaches on Theatre of the Oppressed, and at the Notre Dame International High School in Verneuil sur Seine where he teaches literature and theatre. He is also editorial advisor on The Opiate literary journal, co-director at The Opiate Books publishing studio and artistic director of the Paris Fringe International Theatre Festival (2020).
His productions, all via the OfPotters’Demons – Text, Performance and Image Lab – include Quasar Blues (Writer and Director, Winner of the Montmartre Dionysia Showcase, Paris Fringe 2016), Some Stupid Bitch Killed Ana Peaceful (Writer and Producer, Paris 2017), Criminals! (Director and Co-Producer, Camden Fringe 2018, Paris Fringe 2018) Listen, I’m Dying (Writer, Director and Producer, Moscow & Paris 2018). His plays Yet So As By Fire and Quasar Love have been published by The Opiate Books and are available from all leading online bookstores.
“I can definitely say, as a working actress, that this Writing for the Stage Course has helped me to read scripts and understand stories much better. Through a methodical and practical approach, Anton manages to break down and unpack the essential stages necessary to write an effective, strong and challenging script step by step. He totally demystifies the writing process, rendering it fully comprehensible, plus there’s always the useful and encouraging feedback he provides in the commentaries and reviews of our writing. Highly recommendable!”
Louise Denyer, Actress and English Acting Coach
“My work relates to concept-based research translated into short performance art solos and the workshop has guided me to look back into my previous ways of forming stories and to rethink form, shape and soul of the moving body images I create to communicate a visual message. For sure the workshop has given me food for thought for other performance narratives I will be creating in the future to engage the audience even further.”
Charlene Galea, Image Maker and Performance Artist
“I now look at my stories with clarity and confidence. Everything I learned is useful and worthwhile, and being able to apply it directly to my stories with the exercises makes me excited to explore my ideas further!”
Mira Martini, Editor
“Try not to write what you think, write what you feel. – Words from Anton that I always keep in mind when I’m writing my Hong Kong stories!”
Noel Leung, Editor, Activist and Playwright
“I had a blast doing Anton’s workshops. They were a good way to hold me accountable and make a plan for writing and outlining my play. He gave me so many tools to learn how to write a play, and I definitely appreciate playwrights even more now! I recommend this class to anyone who wants to try something new creatively.“
Elly Norris, Actress & Playwright
“Anton’s courses are great! I’ve taken a few so far and I am definitely coming back for more. He has amazing methods of guiding you and of helping you go from vague idea to something that is very specific and that challenges both me as an author but also the audience the piece is destined for. He really dots the “i”, he’s a shaman of playwriting, so to speak!”
Raluca Nechita, Actress and Playwright
“When it comes to molding new playwrights into the creative geniuses they were meant to be, Anton Bonnici is second to none! He takes personal time to meet up with you, talk in-depth about your work, and gives detailed advice that’s tailored to your needs and desires. He always gets me super pumped to write my next scene! Strong recommendation for playwrights of all levels!”
Mike Mecek, Actor, Director, Teacher & Playwright
“The workshop challenges you to think and consider experimenting with different theatrical writing styles. Each lesson is highly interactive, where we engage in expressing our ideas and try out different exercises, in what I considered a safe space. Personally it gave me a broader mindset on approaching theatrical writings. The course also provided me with tools that act as point of reference for my writing.”
Lara Calleja, Award Winning Novelist and Playwright
writing for the stage 