Chocolate and dreams at St James Cavalier

Teatru Qroqq 2005 is made up of a group of B. Ed. (Honours) students (2001-2005) within the Faculty of Education, working under the expert guidance of Isabelle Gatt who is also the founder of the group.

For the past four years, fourth year students have been putting up performances for schoolchildren in various venues such as Bay Street theatre, Temi Zammit Hall and St James Cavalier as part of their Creative Arts credits.

This year, the students are divided in two groups and are putting up two different performances, namely Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in English and Lejl ta' Xewqat (A Night of Wishes) in Maltese.

The students have been extremely resourceful in the whole process of putting up these productions and talent, commitment, dedication and enthusiasm are all contributing factors towards the success of both shows.

Putting up a performance during the trainee teachersí final year at university is an extremely rewarding experience providing them with the opportunity to practice important skills such as planning, management, teamwork and creativity to name a few. The learning factors involved in putting up a performance would ultimately enable the students to pass these skills on to their future pupils, thus emphasising the importance of arts in education.

On a personal level, the joint effort will also enable the groups to form a significant bond which they shall all undeniably carry with them in the years to come.

The students are working under the guidance of theatre practitioners and drama teacher trainers Ms Gatt and Marcelle Teuma. Sigo, a vocalist / musician and voice trainer is assisting the students with their musical arrangements and Chris Gatt from St James Cavalier is helping them with planning and the setting up of lights. The students themselves are obviously also pooling in their many talents in order to ensure the success of these two productions.

The English production is a theatrical adaptation of the work of Dahl, who is undoubtedly a master within the field of children's literature. His wickedly wonderful tales are all very entertaining and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is his renowned story about five lucky children who are the winners of five golden tickets hidden beneath the wrappers of Willy Wonka's delicious chocolate bars.

The winners include four awfully obnoxious children and an extremely poor boy who are all invited to Wonka's Chocolate Factory to witness the magic taking place behind the factory gates. Not only do the children get to meet the zany Mr Wonka himself but also his peculiar Oompaloompas. For Charlie Bucket, who lives only on cabbage soup, winning the fifth golden ticket opens the doors to an adventure of a lifetime.

The show is bound to tantalise all chocoholics and perhaps also provide some food for thought, through Wonka's own observations of how children should be educated.

The Maltese production is a free adaptation of the musical The Millennium Child, which puts through a message against materialism. Sandra is a young girl who lives in a small traditional house with her parents and her only rag doll to play with. One night just before she is off to sleep, while watching television, she makes a wish along with Spike, her pet dog, and then has a dream of wealth and riches, a dream which turns out to be one with a twist.

This play is targeted at a young audience, however accompanying adults will surely enjoy the unforgettable characters and the surprising and funny story in this theatrical production, as they come to realise that there is no place like home.

Both shows incorporate dance, music and comedy and are bound to entertain the children in the audience to no end. The children would also be involved in an experience which would encourage them to use their imaginations and to think creatively.

The performances will be running from April 19-25 at St James Cavalier. The weekday shows are only open for schoolchildren and the weekend shows are open for members of the public.

Bookings can be made on tel. 2122 3200 or e-mail: boxoffice@sjcav.org.

Ms Panzavecchia is directing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Ms Parnis Lejl ta' Xewqat