Category: Uncategorized @mt

The journey of the dance performance “Who is She?” began in 2019 with my theatre piece “Min Hi?” – a Teatru Malta production featuring actress Lee-N Abela. I was intrigued by the idea of transposing the physical action of the dramaturgy to choreographic movement. I worked with dancer Zoe Camilleri to generate the material for a 15-minute solo dance performance – recomposed to the same narrative of the theatrical work. The shift from dramaturgy to choreography was very interesting because although concept and narrative remained the same, it is a completely new piece. The script (in English translation) was distilled to short phrases and presented as an integral part of the pre-recorded soundtrack. The movement was generated anew through physical action techniques. This gave Zoe the freedom to create her own movement through improvisation … from which I would capture strong moments to compose the vocabulary for the performance. Working with Zoe was truly a pleasure. I look forward to work with Zoe again to develop this work even further. Thank you Dance Festival Malta for the opportunity … and thank you Teatru Malta for kick-starting the journey.

Photos by Matthew Maribelli

We caught up with the protagonists of our Young Europe project, mentor Ruth Borg and co-writers Alex Weenink and Kurt Gabriel Meli to get a better feel of their experience in Prague and where they intend to take thus project ahead of producing it in 2023.

With Young Europe 4, the ETC are setting their sights on  exposing the non-dominant voices in our societies and voicing stories that haven’t yet been told. These specific stories will be told through highlighting “forgotten” plays and by writing new ones to be staged in classrooms: where emerging playwrights from minority groups in the European theatre canon, from some 8 different countries will write 8 new plays for young audiences, between the ages of 12 and 25 after which each play will be staged by one of the member theatres in classrooms. 

Here is what they had to say:

Ruth Borg: Mentor

‘’Mentoring this project for me has been a step towards text-theatre again which for the past 5 years or so has been dormant in my life. 

My desire to step out from that world for some time came from a claustrophobic sensation that the written word in theatrical creations 

is sometimes prioritised too much for my liking. 

I was seduced into this project and to flirt with words and text again because of the theme: non-dominant voices. 

It has been beautiful to remember that words can be a vehicle so we may find a name for that which is not so easily heard or visible. 

In persisting with giving a name to something that is not so easily spoken about we give it a place in our consciousness.

I am incredibly grateful to be working with Kurt and Alex who have a penchant for words and can do this exceptionally.

On our journey in Prague it was inspiring to be around them both during workshop hours as well as recreationally.

Alex is more inclined towards expressing himself in English and Kurt more in Maltese although they both use, 

as many of us do, both languages at the same time!

It is deeply touching and often hilarious to see them discuss fiercely about the Maltese and English language. 

There is an immense desire that these two languages stop being made to compete against each other and that people 

stop being made fun of just because they prefer to express themselves with one language instead of the other. 

They revel in how they can be equally beautiful.

It is a joy to witness them speak about this.

Back to the workshops in in Prague, we were there often reminded about the theme of  non-dominant voices in our society.

It was lovely being there, meeting people from other countries and looking at their views and perspectives.

I could not help but ask the group at a point to reflect on the question: how did we end up here, in this room? 

We were all quite privileged people and it seemed to me that most of us, to some degree, had a dominant voice. 

I wondered how we could design calls, invitations and openings that can penetrate the usual circles of people who end up doing this work.

With this in mind, I am very much looking forward with Kurt and Alex to see how we can create a process which allows us to honestly listen to the non-dominant voices we will choose to listen to. We already underway with this, concocting ideas!

 I am curious were all this will go in the end and so thankful to be a part of a lovely group.’’

Kurt Meli: Co-Witer 

‘’As a playwright, my role in Young Europe IV is to develop a classroom play alongside Alex Weenink, under the mentorship of Ruth Borg and Dounia Mahammed. In the lead-up to our workshop in Prague, Alex and myself prepared by compiling visual moodboards, gathering poems and songs, and writing three letters focusing on regret, bravery and desire (alongside our own physical workshop in Malta led by Ruth, to get the creative juices flowing). Following the workshop in Prague, and bearing in mind the ample material we’ve created so far, our approach moving forward shall be more “intuitive”. Rather than creating characters and basing a story around them, we will instead come up with different writing prompts, inspired by the questions we’d like to address, to experiment with new material in different forms (dialogues, monologues, descriptions, poems, etc.). After this, our plan is to connect all our material together as cohesively as possible and derive potential performance structures and narrative devices. Given that this will be my first time experimenting with this approach to playwriting, I’m very eager to see where this journey takes us, and what content we’ll be able to devise!’’

Alex Weenink: Co-Writer 

‘’So far, the Young Europe IV experience has been, for me, an invitation to (re)discover my value both professionally, and artistically. I have (re)discovered what I can offer as a theatre-maker, what forms and styles my art can exist in, and how I can employ different and unexpected artistic processes. It has been an opportunity to break habits. Likewise, it has been an exciting opportunity to investigate and deepen my collaboration with Kurt. We both consider ourselves writers, but what happens when we combat the traditional notion of the solitary playwright? What are the lines between writer and dramaturg, wordsmith and mover, editor and actor? How do we navigate between them? Do they exist at all? Once again, this project has been an invitation to challenge our established methods and affinities, and our art has become all the richer for it. Ruth, our mentor in many senses of the word, has been central to that newfound richness; guiding us and our process warmly and sensitively. Our week in Prague with the European Theatre Convention, too, offered us the tools, perspectives, space, time, and environment to intensely focus on this project and this project alone (a luxury all too rare nowadays). It was a week filled with valuable workshops and seminars, soul-nourishing conversations and discussions with artists from all over Europe, inspiring performances and panoramic views, and the right headspace to absorb it so as to embolden the play we are crafting.’’

Teatru Malta’s work on this class-room project kicked-off this Spring, whereby meetings were organised between mentor Ruth Borg, and mentees and writers Alex Weenink and Kurt Gabriel Meli, to begin to develop the work in question with the intention of all partners from all participating theatre companies coming together again during this joint festival in 2024.

For more information on Young Europe please follow these pages to keep up with all the latest updates on what Ruth, Alex and Kurt are up to.

Jan Hromádko

Teatru Malta and Moveo Dance Company welcome you to a banquet of earthly delights, a dinner that is by no means your average feast. This event marks the first time the company will be staging a dance-theatre-banquet that is centered around the art of improvisational theater in an actual restaurant.  

Directed by popular improv practitioner Simone Ellul, with music by Albert Garzia, quintessential theatrical formulas are not to be expected during this performance which will last an hour and take up the entirety of the second course portion of this three-course meal at Bacchus restaurant in Mdina.

This production also brings about the first collaboration between the national theatre company and Moveo Dance Company, with movement direction being entrusted to Moveo’s own Artistic Director Dorian Mallia. Moveo company director Diane Portelli, will also be performing in the show, together with the Moveo company dancers, actor Sean Briffa and actress Antonella Axisa who will take on the role of Nina. The show is entirely dependent on it’s audience, who will guide the direction and the narrative of the performance as the meal progresses. 

A lively performance that is not to be missed, within the illustrious Bacchus Banquet Hall in Mdina, this is by no means an average Friday night out. During this dinner, the guests become part of the show, and with a deliciously prepared meal and free flowing wine, this performance is truly a first of its kind for Teatru Malta. 

Etikett, is strictly 18+ and will premiere on Friday 29th April for one night only, with the intention of touring in the months to come. Doors will open at 19:30, and guests must all be seated by 20:00. Single tickets cost Eur 60.00 and a group ticket for 4 cost Eur 200.00, saving you Eur 10.00 on each ticket if purchased as a group ticket. For more information on Etikett please visit www.teatrumalta.org.mt 

Last Saturday I attended something as important as any election – the 5th edition of Trikki Trakki Children’s Theatre Festival, produced by Teatru Malta under the direction of Antonella Axisa.

I was lucky to work with two directors who put up two short plays with these children: Nicole Cuschieri and Joseph Galea. Nicole did a version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth with the Bishop’s Conservatory in Gozo. In this version, Macbeth is the loyal General to Duncan ‘King of the Greens’, until one day he meets three witches who offer him a burger with nutritionally devastating consequences. Joseph work with the St Gorg Preca Middle School in Ħamrun. They looked at the work of the Stage Commandos and explored the importance of theatre in times of war and pandemics.

I enjoyed all the performances thoroughly, but I was mostly struck by these children’s honesty. I enjoyed watching them explore realities in a mature but direct manner: the pandemic, the future, the climate crisis, etc.

I was struck by one production in particular, ‘The Story of My Future’ by the students of the St Theresa College Middle School, Birkirkara, under the direction of Malcolm Galea. In a few words: a migrant family settles in Malta, and despite all the hardship and racism, they manage to build a new life here. But in order to do so, their daughter had to sacrifice her dream of becoming a model, and become a doctor instead – for no-one wanted to believe in her or give her the opportunity, including her teachers and friends.

I admit I was moved. I had heard those words plenty of times when I was a boy, every one of them. ‘Music? What are you going to do with music? You are an intelligent boy, don’t waste your life! Become a doctor or a teacher, not a musician!’ Maybe because I was lucky enough to face that challenge without the added burden of racism, or maybe because I did find a few who supported me even when they did not understand me….or maybe because I am stubborn and did not give up.

Whatever the answer….thank you to all of you who took part for reminding me that your fears and your dreams are precious. Yes, even your fears, for you are often able to see things that we often accept passively. Now, if I may, I will ask you one thing…don’t become like us, become something better!

Drago is a theatre piece which deals with the fabrics of Maltese society by focusing on legendary Maltese professional snooker player Tony Drago. The performance is, however, not just a biography of Tony Drago, and what the audience experiences is not some superficial and superlative eulogy of a successful individual. Instead, Drago is a poetic reflection of a society that almost inevitably has to constantly deal with the isolation imposed on it geographically and the possibilities that exist if this isolation is overcome. In this sense, Drago is a rather profound reflection of what Toni bin Sina tal-Belt (the son of Sina from Valletta) goes through to become ‘Tornado Tony’ and reach the highest levels of quality in his sports profession. 

These high levels are well reflected theatrically in the sequence where Peter Galea – who for almost 90 minutes, on his own, plays the part of Tony Drago – climbs on the snooker table and reaches for what the light design makes one think is the highest imaginable point in the world of Drago. Drago’s highs are however contrasted by the various challenges and fears that he faces. Like, for instance, when he has to deal with tax problems following shady manoeuvres by some of his managers and Toni calls his mother – the only shoulder he could cry on – for solace; or, in various sequences functioning as bridges between sections where Drago’s fear of flying is portrayed. 

These constant contrasts between Tony Drago and Toni bin Sina tal-Belt are very well brought forward as a subtle underlaying narrative by Director Sean Buhagiar. They generate interesting tensions without ever imposing on the audience a superlative aura around Drago’s persona. Rather, what is provided throughout the performance is a poetic rendition of the negotiations that such tensions may trigger within any individual facing similar issues.  In Drago, therefore, the game of snooker, of which Tony Drago is an international exponent, is but a metaphor of a Maltese society reflected, as it were, in the story of an individual. 

Dr Mario Frendo

Senior lecturer, Department of Theatre Studies, School of Performing Arts 

University of Malta

The story of snooker legend Tony Drago’s rise to fame is one that we’ve all heard of. 

Famous for his fiery temper and speed around the table, both becoming as synonymous with him as his competition attire, Tony is the stuff of living legend on both the local and international snooker circuits. 

This March, Teatru Malta in co-production with the Valletta Cultural Agency will be producing a one-hander starring none other than Peter Galea, playing the coveted role of the infamous snooker star in upcoming play DRAGO – It-Tvenvin ta’ “Tornado Tony” which will be staged at the La Valletta Band Club this March.

This site specific performance is directed by Sean Buhagiar and written by André Mangion, with the artistic and audiovisual direction of the show being entrusted to visual artist Charlie Cauchi.

Will you be keeping score? The production opens on the 11th of March and will run until the 20th of March with an 8pm performance, open to just a limited audience within the actual La Vallette band club, every evening. 

For more information on DRAGO “It-Tvenvin ta’ Tornado Tony” and to book your €15/€20 tickets please visit 

www.teatrumalta.org.mt 

With average life expectancy for a 65-year-old today at nearly 20 additional years , people are living well into their 80s and beyond. Many will remain active and healthy.

Whilst physical flexibility does diminish with age, practical knowledge and wisdom are likely to increase. Older adults are individuals with experiences of living and ageing influenced by many factors.

Older adults not only possess an enhanced ability to navigate the important challenges of social life, but they can contribute significantly to the social and cultural realm by sharing their role in culture and also providing stories.

Throughout the ageing process, the arts can play a vital role. Participation in the arts stimulates the senses, enlivens individuals mentally and emotionally and promotes physical and cognitive health. The arts provide opportunities for healing, self-expression and learning amid physiological, cognitive and social losses. The arts not only help maintain and form social bonds that inspire creativity but can also aid in health and well-being as well as provide a safe space for learning.

Thus, Kazin 60+ was born. In collaboration with the Active Ageing Department, Teatru Malta has provided a space where in the space of a year, older adults aged 60+ can meet on a bi-monthly basis to take part in theatre sessions. The main aim of these sessions is to inspire creativity, hone existing drama and theatre skills, offer participants new tools in order to become better actors and hark back to a time of play in order to give older adults the opportunity to have fun on a social level. 

Run by a seasoned theatre practitioner, Charlotte Stafrace (Grech), Każin 60+ brings together a group of fun creatives from all walks of life. The participants learn improvisation skills and games relating to theatre genres, improve their vocal techniques, are encouraged to write poems/monologues, read through texts, move around in order to find a new lightness and share their life experiences through stories in a spirit of fun.

The parallel benefits of such a creative programme cannot be dismissed. Researchers in ageing say that the brain has plasticity and develops continually in response to experiences and learning as long as it receives proper stimulation. Każin 60+, Teatru Malta’s brainchild, aims to do just that.

From the first moment that this lively group walked into their audition back in September 2021 to the present time, we have already witnessed a sense of growth and desire for further self-expression, enhanced by the social aspects of Każin 60+. Moreover, this programme is encouraging and challenging older adults to get involved not just as viewers or audience members, but also as creators. Creativity matters.

And just as everyone settled into their place, it’s time for us to bid farewell to yet another production

It’s been a thrilling few months getting to work with this brilliant cast of actors, singers and performers all of whom have become like family to us. Getting to work with a cast this large, the largest we’ve worked with since the pandemic, has been a privilege to say the least

Thank you to FCN for collaborating with us on this commission, one which served to remind everyone of the life of one of the greatest Maltese patriots our island has ever known on the centenary from his death in 1921.

Thank you to Kris Spiteri and Victor Jacono for making this dream come to life. When discussions about this project began all that existed was a location, a subject and an idea but what Kris and Victor managed to achieve through tireless hours of discussions and work exceeded all of our expectations.

We are very proud of what we’ve accomplished together and we feel like Manwel would be too. Thank you for coming, for watching and for singing along with us. We will see you again very soon 

The pandemic was not easy on theatre Yesterday Times of Malta reported that the majority of the Maltese public “spend no money at all on culture” with only 3% of the population having gone to a theatre since the easing of restrictions as proven by a recent study carried out by Arts Council Malta

With that in mind, we’d like YOU to keep theatre in mind this Christmasand help support the sector by giving your Christmas #awguri through our very own #kartawguri which is available as a:

€20 (Yellow) and €50 (Green) voucher card redeemable in all things TeatruMalta such as: Future Production Tickets Official Teatru Malta Merchandise and any book from our Programm Kitba Ġdida and Kotba Klassiċi series

BUY YOURS TODAY:

€20 Yellow Card https://teatrumalta.bigcartel.com/product/kart-awguri-safra

€50 Green Card https://teatrumalta.bigcartel.com/product/kartawguri-safa

WHO TO GIVE US TO ?

Feel like giving your nanna something other than another set of pyjamas? Maybe you should rethink that scented candle you got your secret santa? Is your aunt tired of bingo nights? Sorted! A memorable night out to the theatre it is!

They don’t like theatre? Even better, because we have productions, books and merchandise that will suit everyone!

There has never been a better time to give the #giftoftheatre than this Christmas