Nicole Cuschieri
Biography
Born in Malta, Nicole Cuschieri spent her first 11 years on the island before emigrating to the UK. She spent her formative years living in Yorkshire and then moved to London to complete her education. From a young age, she was always a fantasist and a storyteller with a flamboyant sense of style. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Costume and a Masters in Media and Art at the University of Westminster.
After moving back to Malta, she became heavily involved in both theatre and film as a director, producer, costume designer and writer. To this day, she wears many hats. Upon arriving in Malta, she created a series of events called ‘Le Salon’, which were literary evenings that aimed to bring writers and performers together to create a literary/visual work of art. She also produced several short art house films that she wrote and directed. In 2010, she launched her first Burlesque show, along with her troupe of madcap performers. The shows that were big hits consisted of dark and sometimes racy theatre, dance, music, puppetry, mime, drag and opera. She directed and produced ten more shows spread across the next ten years, with the last one held in 2019.
In 2012, she opened her voluntary organisation, Creative Island, which allowed artists to collaborate, sell their work and participate in various events and workshops. She produced and directed several events through her organisation, like book launches, performance art, immersive theatre, cabaret workshops and an old-style medicine show. In 2013, she directed and produced her first film with a budget, Bews il-Bahar, funded by the Film Fund.
In the last few years, she has been frequently involved in children’s projects. She worked on the project Tafxnafx, inviting Form 2 students in Malta and Gozo to write a story and turn it into a five-minute film. She also collaborated on Darba Wahda, an intergenerational project between older adults and children that included drama, games, storytelling, and improvisations. She also volunteered with Opening Doors for several years, an organisation that provides creative opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.
She has been involved in Trikki Trakki four years in a row, both as a director and a costume designer, and with Ziguzajg for the past three years on several different projects, as well as both director and costume designer. In 2017, she produced Inwardly Silent, an immersive theatre experience based on the true story of the recovery of a coma patient. For this project, she produced the short film ‘Her Secrets in the Ocean’ was an exploration of a brief moment where one hangs between life and death. In 2020, she produced and directed a short arthouse film called L-Istedina, which was self-funded, through the generous support of both crew and sponsors.
As a creative, Nicole rarely sticks to one genre and is always hungry to try anything new. She often explores dark, surrealist, fantastical and bizarre themes, and her aim is always to tell a visual story. She immensely enjoys every second of the creative process and loves to collaborate and create new experiences with fellow creatives. As a human being, she loves animals, plants, people, and anything colourful, and she likes to laugh and explore the world.