L-Avvizi #2 Newsletter

Looking back, this has admittedly been the slowest Summer period we’ve had in a while. It shouldn’t have been, it should have been brimming with Summer productions and events that we had been lining up for months but with all that’s happened we’ve realised that it’s also important to be able to take a minute and assess our next steps moving forward. This includes concluding our plans for 2021 and 2022. Long story short, we plan on coming back with a bang. 

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Last August our pop up piece Xilallu went off without a hitch, even with all of these measures and restrictions in place. The performers still managed to catch everyone passing through Republic Street by surprise and put on a great show. But considering the current circumstances we together with our collaborators Studio 18 and Aġenzija Żgħażagħ have decided to give this fun project a break for the time being. Better safe than sorry. 

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We’d also like to wish Colin Willis who turned 76 on September 4th a belated happy birthday! Over the past two years it’s been a great pleasure of ours to get to know Colin and his partner Nanette and it is for this reason that it saddens us to announce that we’ll officially be bidding A Stroke of Bad Luck farewell. Despite many efforts and hurdles along the way, we’ve chosen to prioritize health over everything else and let this show take a good rest.

This September will see us focus on Alice in Wonderless Land, an adaptation of Franca Rame’s Alice nel paese senza Meraviglie which we’re working on in co-production with Żigużajg 2020’s Festival. If you’re familiar with the writings and work of Dario Fo then there’s the odd chance that you may have overlooked the fact that he was the husband of his multi-talented wife Franca, who not only is a published writer herself but often co-wrote a lot of work alongside Fo.

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This brings us to the crux of the issue, and the reason why we’ve dedicated this year’s ŻiguŻajgteen project to female empowerment. It’s all about the girls this November. Different to any year preceding it, this year’s ŻuguŻajgproject will be a DIY theatre piece, wherein students and audiences will be able to create their own show from school. 

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You might be wondering how, but you’ll get that answer soon enough. In order to do this, we’re working overtime here to get all the elements of a traditional play such as sound, voice overs, script transitions, prop making, etc. out of the way ahead of time. Last week we wrapped our recording session with the talented Mariele Zammit who will be starring as our very own Alice! The piece will be devised and directed by Sean Buhagiar and produced in both Maltese and English. If you’re thinking this is going to be another online stream, think again because there’s much more brewing at the bottom of this rabbit hole. 

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But that isn’t all! While most pantomimes have unfortunately had to cancel their December runs, we’re forging ahead with ours but this time make sure to give us a listen on the radio. Marta Vella and Vikesh Godhwani have just closed off their script for upcoming Teatru Malta radio play Ġulbiena – A Panto in the Dark in co-production with Spazju Kreattiv. This is the first time we’ve ever ventured into the realm of radio and we’re excited about all that’s to come in the coming weeks. 

Atelier Francis Ebejer is also set to launch very soon! This revamp of its predecessors Progett & Premju Francis Ebejer will introduce associate artists to the team of people who will be shaping the next generation of theatre makers through shadowing, mentoring and workshops produced in collaboration with Teatru Manoel and Spazju Kreattiv. We don’t have much else to tell you about this for now we’re afraid but you can enjoy our revamped project artwork  while you wait for those applications to come out! 

See you in October 🙂