International Drama Festival promises theatre diversity

The Drama Centre Mikelang Borg is holding an International Drama Festival to mark the 25th anniversary of its foundation.

The festival will be held over a period of three weekends between Friday, May 23 and Sunday, June 8 at the centre's premises within the Maria Regina Complex, Blata l-Bajda.

"During the past 25 years, the Drama Centre, under its various names and guises, has striven to make its artistic contribution to live theatre in Malta," the head of the Drama Centre and festival coordinator Josette Ciappara said at the festival launch yesterday.

"Lack of resources and entrepreneurship in theatrical experimentation led to a gradual decline in the crucial research and development stages so necessitated by live theatre.

"Today, however, we are in a position to offer an opportunity to all those who keep theatre at heart, through the staging of this international drama festival aimed at presenting a diversity of theatre."

Five local theatre groups and three foreign companies will perform throughout the festival.

Maltese acts include those by Teatru Menz, Aleateia, Kast, TDC Theatre Group and Faces whilst the foreign acts will be by Demasque from the Netherlands, Ridiculusmus from North Ireland and Concept from Croatia.

The first two weekends will host the Maltese groups whilst the foreign acts will take centre stage on the third weekend.

Performances will start at 7.30 p.m. and will take place at the Drama Centre's state of the art Josie Coppini Studio Theatre within Maria Regina Complex on the first two weekends. The performances by TDC Theatre Group and Ridiculusmus on the last weekend will be staged at St James Cavalier in Valletta.

The drama festival is being supported by the Ministry of Education, the Manoel Theatre, the British Council, the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts, St James Cavalier, the Malta Tourism Authority, Nexos and Merlin Library.