Nicholas Gambin

About

I started theatre training at the age of 6 on the island of Malta, and have spent over 20 years participating in various lessons, workshops, rehearsals and productions within the performing arts industry. It is through theatre that I have been able to develop a better understanding of people.

As an actor, I learnt techniques of how to embody characters and recreate human behaviours, figuring out how they might differ from our own ways of life. As a playwright, I found my voice as a writer through the ways that characters speak and interact with one another. As a director, I played with the process of turning my actors into characters and lifting those experiences from the page to the stage. These different roles have helped me develop a well-rounded perspective on the overarching theatre-making process.

My current research project is titled ‘Theatre Is My Empathy Gym”. My believe is that theatre invites us to take a seat in someone else’s story, no matter how similar or different they may be to our own. The hope is that through sharing in the lived experiences of others, the commonalities of human existence reveal themselves to us, which bring us closer together and make us better humans. The work consists of a series of personal essays, focusing on the experience of watching theatre and blending that with personal anecdotes and reflections. My intention is to move away from the traditional theatre review and open up conversations about theatrical performances beyond professional artistic circles. In essence, my writing is an exploration into the identities, emotions, and psychologies of people to further understand the experiences that have shaped them.

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I write to have a conversation. Speaking directly to you, with you, the reader. My words spring from the page and into a microphone, like spoken word or prose or monologues on a stage. I use light words that are bogged down by overcomplication.

I write to cope with our world. It is the only way for me to work through the struggles of everyday life. The mental health restlessness that is voiceless. The lightness and darkness of queerness. The in-between existences that cannot be pinned down by a simple category.

I write to you personally. Starting inside and moving outwards. It is more of a need than a want. I express deep emotions and feelings in an intimate and vulnerable way. To make you feel seen and held, reminding you that you are less alone in this world.

I write for me, for you, for us.

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Nicholas Gambin is a writer and theatre-maker from the Mediterranean island of Malta who is currently based in London. He has had many years of experience training and working in theatre and the performing arts, both on stage as a performer and off stage as a writer and director, as well as in production roles. He also has a strong background in communications, having studied it at undergrad and worked professionally in marketing and social media management. Some of his theatrical production credits include Kisbiet Minsija (translated to “Forgotten Achievements”, 2022), Thirty Love (2022) and Moving Boxes (2024). 

Email: nicgambin@gmail.com