By Jairo Rodrigues
Malcolm De Freitas is a predominant character in the Theatre Guild. He has been an active member since the early 1980s and currently is quite active in his position as a director for several upcoming plays, but he does quite a bit more in the dramatic arts; writing plays, writes short stories and poems, teaching young prospective actors, and producing plays.
Drama was highly influential in Alberttown, Georgetown where Malcolm grew up. He recalled that it all sprang from playing lots of games and creating stories in his big backyard. “That’s when I started writing stories and then we would perform those stories,” he said. The cinemas and dramatists of the age were dynamical additions to the above. Malcolm was also fully immersed in drama from the young adolescent age of 13, while attending the now defunct Muslim Education Trust College. He noted that he would usually perform in skits at school concerts.
Influenced by the many theorists who induced and added to the study of drama, Malcolm said, “I am fortunate to have worked with some good actors and great directors,” he said. “I came up in a period where drama was a huge credit. There were people who loved the art.” He highly values the youth of expression and admires
