THEATRE
La Cage Aux Folles
Ray Calleja and Mikhail Basmadjian star in the main roles in the popular music being staged by FM Theatre Productions and the Manoel Theatre.
With music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and a book by Harvey Fierstein, the musical is about a gay couple, made up of the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and his star attraction. Madness ensues when his straight son brings home a fiancée and her ultra-conservative parents to meet them.
The musical, directed by Chris Gatt, with musical direction by Kris Spiteri, is being staged this weekend and from October 26 to 30. For tickets, visit teatrumanoel.com.mt.
L-Għarusa ta’ Ġużè Diacono
Marcelina Galea in L-Għarusa ta' Ġużè Diacono. Photo: Ritty TacsumTeatru Malta, in collaboration with Heritage Malta, are producing an adaptation by Immanuel Mifsud of Ġużè Diacono’s L-Għarusa.
This year marks 100 years from Diacono's birth and 20 years from his passing.
The mystic play focuses on the mental and emotional torments of a sister who swears herself into sisterhood after witnessing her beloved drown to his tragic death in front of her very eyes.
The key cast is made up of Marceline Galea, Jacob Piccinino, Moira Muscat and Charlotte Formosa. The piece features a set design by contemporary Maltese artist Austin Camilleri
The play in Maltese is being staged this weekend and between October 25 and 31 at The Armoury in Vittoriosa. For tickets, click here.
Alice the Musical
Centrestage Malta is staging its own take on Lewis Carroll’s classis story Alice's Adventures In Wonderland.
Besides Alice, all of the well-known Wonderland characters appear in the fast-paced show: the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Duchess, the King and the Queen.
The musical is being staged at City Theatre in Valletta today at 5 and 7.30pm. For tickets, click here.
Ta’ Fuqha Senduqha
The original play in Maltese inspired by real-life accounts of poverty in Malta is being staged again this weekend at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta.
Penned by André Mangion and directed by Toni Attard, Ta’ Fuqha Senduqha stars Michela Farrugia as Ruth, a girl with a good head on her shoulders who finds herself homeless and straddling the poverty line.
The play, certified 16+, also stars Josette Ciappara, Charles Sammut, Sharon Bezzina and Clint Chircop.
In collaboration with YMCA, the production is holding a food drive to help 150 people including 75 families, with 55 people living in YMCA facilities. For more information, visit www.udjenza.com. For tickets, visit kreattivita.org.
Michela Farrugia in Ta' Fuqha Senduqha. Photo: Elisa Von BrockdorffThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
The youth musical theatre group Company OneEleven of Teatru Salesjan is today staging the musical comedy The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee at Theatre Next Door in Magħtab.
The show centres on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous school. Six quirky adolescents compete in the Bee, run by three equally quirky grown-ups. Conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss, the musical features music and lyrics by William Finn and a book by Rachel Sheinkin.
The Teatru Salesjan show is directed by Denise Mulholland, with choreography by Emma Loftus. For tickets, click here.
Some of the actors of Company OneEleven preparing for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Photo: Teatru SalesjanARTS FESTIVALS
Opera is Gozo
The Opera is Gozo programme continues with a Chamber Music Recital at the Ministry for Gozo Hall in St Francis Square, Victoria, today at 8pm.
The recital features soloists Mario Galea on clarinet, George Camilleri on the euphonium, and Francis Camilleri on pianoforte. The event is free but reservations can be made on info@lastella.com.mt.
As part of the festival, an exhibition titled Black on White by Richard England is opening at Art..e Gallery, in Library Street, Victoria. The gallery is open from Monday to Sunday from 9.30am to 12.15pm. Entrance is free.
Opera is Gozo runs until the end of October. For more information, download the full programme from visitgozo.com.
MUSIC
Soundscapes
The Malta Society of Arts is hosting a concert by composer, pianist and cellist Håvard Enstad today at 8pm.
Born in Norway but currently based in Vienna, Enstad has premiered three musicals and released several albums with different projects in various genres.
During Soundsapes, Enstad will present an intimate musical journey from Scandinavia to the Middle East.
For tickets, click here.
Håvard Enstad. Photo: Rodrigo VasquezDANCE
On Reefs and Eroded Lands We Danced
ŻfinMalta’s artistic director Paolo Mangiola opens the 2022/23 season with a new full-length work for the company. Taking inspiration from the Svalbard seed bank − a vault built to contain the world’s most prized crops in case of an apocalyptic event – this work explores the possibilities of what humans select and conserve as essential elements to protect and preserve life on earth.
Collaborators include Indian composer Goya, Maltese visual artist Matthew Attard and dramaturg Victor Jacono. Costume design is by Louie Noire and Emma Walker.
The dance, suitable for an audience aged 8+, is being held at the Valletta Campus Theatre between today and Sunday at the Valletta Campus Theatre at 7.30pm. For tickets, visit showshappening.com.
ŻfinMalta dancers rehearsing for their new show. Photo: Facebook/ŻfinMaltaMiscellaneous events
Ħamrun Chocolate Festival
The 12th edition of the Ħamrun Chocolate Festival is taking place today from 5pm onwards.
Among other activities, there will be an exhibition by the Malta Railway, Malta Tramway and Friends at the Ħamrun local council premises, a show by the Sbandieratori Di Carpineto Ramano, live artists, children’s activities and, of course, plenty of chocolate creations.
For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.
Photo: Facebook/Ħamrun Chocolate FestivalVintage Motors Festival
The Federazzjoni Maltija Vetturi Antiki is organising the 12th Vintage Motors Festival in Malta and Gozo today and tomorrow.
The event will comprise a regularity run and three separate classic and vintage vehicle shows.
The Malta leg of the regularity run will start at the Old Motors Club in Mosta today at 2pm and follow a scenic route to a half-way halt in Pjazza San Nikola in Siġġiewi and eventually finish in Mellieħa by 4pm.
The Gozo leg of the regularity run will start on Sunday at the Mġarr Marina at 10.30am and will proceed to Munxar for the half-way break. The route will finish in Nadur at 1pm.
The three shows, which will include military vehicles, will be held in the main squares of Nadur, Victoria and Għajnsielem from 9am to 3.30pm. For more information, visit The FMVA Motors Festival 2022 Facebook page.
Valletta Local Food Festival
The first edition of the Valletta Local Food Festival is coming to a close today at the Valletta Design Cluster.
There is a wide selection of traditional, handcrafted, fresh local food and drink, live music by Amber Bondin and educational talks. Today there will be talks on the honey-making process in Malta, on bacteria and fungus in everyday foods and on the beer brewing process in Malta.
Doors open from 7.30pm to 11pm. The Valletta Local Food Festival is organised by the Valletta Cultural Agency and is supported by the Malta Tourism Authority. For more information, visit the event's Facebook page.
Some of the food items on display at the Valletta Local Food Festival. Photo: Facebook/Valletta Cultural AgencyLanguid Lane
As part of an 18-month mentorship project named Artivisti, multimedia artist Martina Camilleri (Tina) is producing Languid Lane, a playful, guided walk through the streets of Birkirkara being held in response to the overconsuming, fast-paced way of life.
Starting off from The Mill, Gabriel Caruana Foundation’s home, a soundscape will ground participants as they set off for an exploration of the surrounding space. Exchanges, encounters and opening up to imagination are encouraged.
The event is being held today at 9.30 and 11am. To register, click here.
Camilleri was mentored for the project by Kristina Borg and is supported by Arts Council Malta and Aġenzija Żgħażagħ.
Aurora International Folk Festival
The Aurora Folk Group. Photo: FacebookThe Citadel in Victoria is hosting a weekend of folk activities.
The Aurora Folk Group and International Folk Groups will showcase a set of traditional dances in authentic traditional costumes, a re-enactment of a traditional Maltese wedding, impromptu folk singing (traditional għana) and a collection of traditional songs and nursery rhymes by the Aurora children’schorus. Traditional artisanal crafts will also be on display.
The programme will be presented in an interactive manner in which the audience, particularly foreigners, are encouraged to mingle, enquire and learn.
For the full programme, visit www.teatruaurora.com or www.visitgozo.com.
VISUAL ARTS
Resonances
Inside a Rock III (1964) by Pawlu GrechAn exhibition by the late maestro Pawlu Grech at The Volunteer Centre, St Bartholomew Street, Rabat, comes to a close today.
From an early age, Grech showed proficiency both for music and for the visual arts. It was a twinned passion that was to persist throughout his life. This exhibition celebrates both sides of Grech, its title Resonances evoking the characteristics of both his music and visual art.
The exhibition, organised by Amanda Tabone, is part of an initiative managed by the Malta Council for the Voluntary Sector ‘Art for VOs’ and will be in aid of Animal Guardian, Cat Sanctuary, Luqa.
Resonances will be open from 6 to 9pm. Consult the event’s Facebook page for more information.
Read more about the artist and his work in this Times of Malta feature.
Essence
A solo exhibition of contemporary realistic works in oil by Christine Porter Lofaro is open at the Malta Society of Arts at Palazzo de la Salle in Valletta.
The artist portrays observations, emotions and narratives as she strives to present our transitory presence in this world, its intensity and how much it matters.
The exibition, curated by Charlene Xaxa Calleja, runs until October 27. Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 8am to 7pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 1pm. For more information, click here.
For more insight, read the Times of Malta interview with the curator.
150 / Richard Ellis
The Richard Ellis Archive, consisting of 39,000+ glass negatives documenting the period in Malta and Gozo between 1861 and 1938, has been digitised in archival-grade quality for the first time in its history.
The British-Maltese photographer (January 1842-December 1924) was one of the pioneers of photography in Malta during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Thirty large prints taken from his archive are currently on display at Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta, until tomorrow, October 23.
The exhibition is curated by Charles Paul Azzopardi and Ian Ellis. For more information, click here.
One may also read the Times of Malta interview with the collection's owner.
A visitor at Spazju Kreattiv admiring a print by Richard Ellis. Photo: Facebook/Spazju KreattivFuq Tlieta
Camilleri Paris Mode of Rabat is hosting an exhibition of paintings by three Maltese artists – Pawl Carbonaro, Jesmond Vassallo and Paul Camilleri.
Carbonaro is one of Malta’s foremost veteran artists, who is famous for his abstracts and semi-abstracted landscapes; Vassallo has a very varied oeuvre, ranging from landscapes to nudes to still lifes; while Camilleri is exhibiting his tactile abstracts that fit well with the works of the other two artists.
Fuq Tlieta is open until the end of October. Log on to the Camilleri Paris Mode Facebook page for more information.
Also read the Times of Malta review here.
It’s 5 o’Clock Somewhere − A Collective Art Exhibition Exploring Guilty Pleasures
A collective exhibition, being held at BOHO Boutique Hotel in Cospicua, is inspired by the famous phrase used when one craves an alcoholic drink at 10am, and to the sting of a guilty conscience, one declares that it is 5 o'clock somewhere in the world.
The participating artists, Aaron Bezzina, Daniel Borg, Roderick Camilleri, Debbie Caruana Dingli, Rupert Cefai, Antoine Farrugia, Karl Froman, Lawrence Pavia, Amelia Saint George, Mario Sammut and Darren Tanti, are portraying such instances they have encountered during their artistic career.
The exhibition, curated by Melanie Erixon, runs until October 30. It is open daily from 10.30am till 1.30pm and on Wednesdays also from 7pm to 10pm. Click here for more information.
Also read the Times of Malta interview with the curator.
Architecture Student Expo 2022
A celebration of everything the Faculty for the Built Environment at the University of Malta does, is taking place at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta.
The Architecture Student Expo is also an opportunity for the creativity of students and their ideas of future spaces and structures to be communicated to society through designs, sketches, digital graphics and architectural models.
The expo runs until October 30. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page and kreattivita.org.
Some of the designs and works on display at the Architecture Student Expo 2022. Photo: Spazju KreattivBioArt Alchemy: Works by Anna Dumitriu
Internationally renowned British bioartist Anna Dumitriu is exhibiting for the first time at Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta.
The artist uses bioart, sculpture, installation and digital media to explore a range of topics, from the origins of society to the sustainable production of biodegradable plastic, cutting-edge genetics and the possibility of bacterially-enhanced super-humans.
The project, a commission of Spazju Kreattiv, features a collaboration with artist Alex May. It is supported by Esplora Interactive Science Centre and Science in the City, Malta.
BioArt Alchemy runs until October 30. For more information, click here.
Groundwaters
A collective exhibition featuring outsider art – an umbrella term coined for individuals producing art outside the culturally established centres – is taking place at Valletta Contemporary Gallery.
Titled Groundwaters, this exhibition is the first one in Malta to explore the perspectives of individuals who are somewhat marginalised, through their own design or otherwise, and who create work on the fringes of the mainstream.
Curated by Gabriel Zammit, it features the works of Anonymous, Emma Attard, Adrian Camilleri, William Driscoll, Emma Johnson, Salvina Muscat and Joe Vassallo. It includes ex-voto paintings, West African Bocio fetish dolls and other objects which have their roots in religion, magic and ritual.
The exhibition runs until November 12. Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday from 2 to 7pm. For more information, visit www.vallettacontemporary.com/.
Also read this Times of Malta interview with the curator.
Funny How Time….
Artist Paul Caruana is showing his latest collection of works at Gemelli Framing in Ta' Qali until October 30.
Through a series of poignant watercolours, most of which have origins in the artist’s own biography, Caruana invites us to dwell on the past and learn lessons to alter the present so that the future might be worth living.
The exhibition runs until October 30. Consult the event’s Facebook page for opening hours.
Read the Times of Malta interview with the artist here.
Landmarks
Artist Fabio Borg is holding his eighth solo exhibition throughout the month of October at The Phoenicia, in Floriana.
Borg construed this collection of abstract landscapes, tilted Landmarks, as innate emotions being expressed onto canvas and painted by instinct. The paintings, therefore, become emotional landmarks that Borg invites the viewer to partake in.
Borg is sensitive to his surroundings and trees, or the seeming lack thereof, is one such issue often a topic of heated discussions. Therefore, these compositions, largely produced in the last two years, trees are the main protagonists in an idealised reinterpretation of nature.
Landmarks, on display at The Phoenicia’s Palm Court Lounge, is curated by Charlene Vella.
Going Uphill by Fabio BorgQ’eros: Beyond the Clouds
Il-Ħaġar Museum and Community Cultural Centre in Victoria is hosting an exhibition by Italian photographer Alessandro Bergamini until November 27.
Eight of the photos on display won Bergamimi the Travel Photographer of the Year award in 2021 and five more were included in the book Humanity, which was chosen as the best photographic book for 2021 in the International Photography Awards.
They will be accompanied with some 30 photos documenting the demanding Peru expedition earlier this year among the Q'eros community in the Andes. Visitors will be able to follow the filming on their mobile.
All the material is included in the exhibition catalogue, published as Il-Ħaġar GEMS 21. Also available are copies of Humanity, an assortment of photos highlighting peoples around the world.
The museum is open everyday from 9am to 5pm. Entrance is free. For more information, visit heartofgozo.org.mt/.
OTHER EXHIBITIONS
Meet the Phoenicians of Malta
A Phoenician stone sarcophagus excavated last year at Għajn Klieb, on the outskirts of Rabat, is one of the major attractions of an exhibition at the National Museum of Archaeology in Valletta.
The exhibition brings to light the results of months of painstaking studies by a multidisciplinary team researching the sarcophagus and two other tombs discovered in the area, as well as their contents. The three tombs, although inherently different, shed light on the burial rituals of the earliest Phoenicians on the island.
The exhibition runs until October 30. The museum in Republic Street, Valletta, is open from Monday to Sunday from 9am to 4.30pm. Entrance to the exhibition is free of charge.
A Phoenician stone sarcophagus excavated last year is one of the main attractions of an exhibition at the Archaeology Museum. Photo: Heritage MaltaDumnikani fil-Palazz: Home & Temple
An exhibition at the Inquisitor's Palace in Vittoriosa tells of the special relationship between the palace and the neighbouring Dominican Order, especially in the post-war years.
Enemy war bombing in 1941 had left the Dominican community without a convent and a church, and they found temporary refuge beyond Vittoriosa. But they were called back by the need to fulfil their spiritual and educational mission among their people.
Eighty years ago, in August 1942, the Dominicans asked for temporary shelter at the Inquisitor’s Palace and, for almost two decades, the palace became the community’s home and temple.
The exhibition runs until January 8. The Inquisitor's Palace is open weekly from Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 4.30pm.