THEATRE

In Other Words

The Shrinking Violets theatre collective is presenting Matthew Seager’s play In Other Words at Theatre Next Door, in Magħtab, between February 3 and 12.

Connected by the music of Frank Sinatra, the play follows a couple on an intimate, humorous and deeply moving journey in and out of their memories of married life, exploring the cruelty of Alzheimer’s disease and the transformative power of music.

Denise Mulholland and Jes Camilleri star as the protagonists Jane and Arthur in this production directed by Chiara Hyzler and supported by Arts Council Malta.

For tickets, visit https://tnd.com.mt/whats-on/in-other-words.

Lupu/Nagħġa

Teatru Malta, in collaboration with Dù Thea­tre, is presenting the latest play written and directed by Simone Spiteri at the Valletta Campus Theatre until February 5.

The play, originally commissioned by Teatru Malta for the European Theatre Convention as part of the Pipelines project and supported by Arts Council Malta, observes typical characters that make up Maltese society and the dynamics between them.

The production, featuring a 12-strong cast and certified 15+, is being performed in Maltese with English surtitles.

There will be daily performances from February 1 to 5, with two shows taking place on the last day.

For tickets, click here.

SAC Soirée: Dear West Side

The annual St Aloysius’ College soirée is being held between February 3 and 6, featuring a varied programme of musical and dance numbers.

These include a dance medley featuring songs from different eras, titled Unanimity; SAC on the Beach, a musical item inspired by Disney’s Teen Beach Movie, Bulerías, a flamenco performance by guitarist Karol Aquilina and Chords of Queen, which will see an eight-piece band performing some of Queen’s iconic songs.

For tickets, visit showshappening.com.

MUSIC

Iljieli fit-teatru 

Pjazza Teatru Rjal is presenting a series of monthly concerts in its green room, situated in the theatre’s backstage (entrance through Victory Street).

Each month will see a different music style, starting off with traditional folk music (għana) on January 30, at 7.30pm.

Taking part will be leading għannejja Żeppi Spagnol ‘il-Kelba’, Anġlu Theuma ‘tal-Kina’ and Mikiel Cumbo ‘l-Iżgej’.

Free tickets may be booked via admin@pjazzateatrurjal.mt. 

Chamber Evenings

The Mediterranean Conference Centre, in collaboration with the St Paul Metropolitan Orchestra and the Medina Foundation, is presenting a recital by the SPMO Wind Quintet on February 3.

The quintet is made up of Silvio Zammit (flute), Noel Beck (clarinet), Alistair Attard (French horn), Alfred Fenech (oboe) and Peter Lyndley (bassoon).

The programme includes Tahiti Trot by Vincent Youmans, the Peter and the Wolf Suite by Prokofiev, Disney favourites arranged by Adrian Wagner,  Libertango by Astor Piazzola and Funeral March by Charles Gounod.

Mark Agius will be the recital's narrator.

The event will be held at the Girolamo Cassar Hall, MCC, on February 3 at 7.30pm. For tickets, click here.

Għawdex Inħobbok

The Ministry for Gozo, in collaboration with Fevasi, is holding the fourth edition of the music spectacle Għawdex Inħobbok in Independence Square, Victoria, on February 4.

Performing on the night will be the 25-piece Palace String Orchestra, featuring singers Amber, Denise, Keith and Neville, and special guest performance by Michela Pace.

Local band Strait Ahead will be opening the event, while DJ Carlo Gerada will be closing off the night.

Performances start at 8pm. Entrance is free. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.

Lejla fil-Kapitali

The Għaqda tal-Pawlini, AD 1970 – Valletta is hosting a concert by DCapitals Big Band in St Paul Street, Valletta, on February 4, with proceeds going to Puttinu Cares.

The event, supported by Sullivan Shipping Agencies Ltd, starts at 8pm. For more information, visit the society’s Facebook page.

A Royal Evening

The King’s Own Philharmonic Society is hosting its annual concert at the Manoel Theatre in Valletta on February 5.

Among others, this year’s concert will feature pieces associated with the British monarchy. Apart from Rule Brittania, the band will play A Royal Salute, written by its musical director John Galea in honour of King Charles III’s coronation and which will be performed in Malta for the first time.

The concert will be held under the patronage of the British High Commissioner for Malta, Katherine Ward.

For more information and tickets, visit teatrumanoel.com.mt.

ARTS

Rabat Agape Festival

Fondazzjoni Paulus is presenting the 10th edition of its annual arts and culture event Rabat Agape Festival.

This festival celebrates the feasts of the Conversion and Shipwreck of St Paul and promotes the artistic heritage of the Maltese islands. 

The highlight of this year’s festival is the annual concert of sacred music featuring the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Christopher Muscat and the New Choral Singers choir led by Mauro Farrugia, which will be held on February 3 at 7.30pm.

The programme includes an orchestral suite from Il Divin Poema by Carmelo Pace, Joseph Vella’s Music for a White Dove, Paul Portelli’s L-X ta’ Frar 1926, Joseph Abela Scolaro’s Innu Ċentinarju Pawlin 1960 written for the Pauline centenary celebrations of that same year and his Cantata San Pawl. 

The concert will also include a monologue about St Paul interpreted by actor Mario Micallef and a number of audiovisual features. 

This concert is being held under the patronage of Mgr Savio Hon Tai-Fai SDB, Apostolic Nuncio to Malta, and is organised with the cooperation of the Archpriest and Collegiate Chapter of St Paul’s Basilica in Rabat.  Admission to the concert is free of charge. 

The foundation is also organising a lecture in honour of Mgr John Azzopardi at the Wignacourt Museum in Rabat on February 4 at 6.30pm. An exhibition by Mario Sant will be inaugurated at the end of the lecture. It will remain open until February 24 and entrance is free.

On February 5 at 10am, Fondazzjoni Paulus together with Heritage Malta is organising a guided tour starting from the archaeological site of San Pawl Milqi. Afterwards, this tour will head to the church of San Pawl tal-Ħġejjeġ in St Paul’s Bay and St Paul’s Grotto in Rabat. More information about this tour can be obtained from the Facebook page of Fondazzjoni Paulus or by sending an e-mail to info@fondazzjonipaulus.org.

The festival runs until February 12. For more information, visit the foundation's Facebook page and click here.

FILM

Film Fest Weekend

The Eden Cinemas in St Julian's and the Embassy Complex in St Julian's are hosting a special weekend of screenings at a reduced price between February 3 and 5.

For a schedule of films and tickets, visit https://www.embassycinemas.com/ and www.edencinemas.com.mt/

Retro Cinema

The Aurora Opera House in Victoria, which used to screen movies in the past, is once again opening its doors as a cinema on February 3 and 5.

The 1994 romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral will be shown on February 3 at 8pm while the 2016 musical La La Land will be screened on February 5 at 5.30pm. Entrance is free.

Ċine’Ambjent

The eNGO Friends of the Earth Malta (FoEM) is organising the second edition of its environmental film festival, Ċine’Ambjent, on February 4 and 5 at the Valletta Design Cluster.

The non-profit film festival provides local communities with a wide range of new and thought-provoking environmental films over a two-day programme. These include Thank You for the Rain from Kenya and a documentary on the Kiribati nation, titled Anote’s Ark. There will also be discussions following the screenings on both days.

The event will also include a cultural after-party with world music by DJ Nil Nisi Bonum and food by the Migrant Women’s Association at Maori, Valletta, from 9pm onwards on February 4.

For more details, visit https://foemalta.org/event/cineambjent-2023/.

MISCELLANEOUS

Made with Love

Villa Rundle Gardens in Victoria is hosting an artisan fair in the run-up to Valentine’s Day. There will be a vast assortment of goods for sale, including crafts, personal care products and art and local handmade food products.

The fair will be open on February 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12. Entrance is free.

Malta International Wine Festival: Winter Edition

The winter edition of the Malta International Wine Festival is being held at the Wine Vaults at Montekristo between February 3 and 5.

The event will bring together the top wineries and wine importers from brands around the globe and performances by various local artists throughout the weekend.

These include Franklin Calleja, Kersten Graham, Gaia Cauchi, Ozzy Lino and Gianni Zammit. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page.

Malta Global Game Jam

The Institute of Digital Games at the University of Malta is once again organising the Malta Global Game Jam between February 3 and 5, which is returning to the regular in-person format this year.

The Global Game Jam sees people teaming up to create a playable game in 48 hours. It is estimated that jammers will be making games in more than 295 sites in 60 countries during that weekend.

There will be limited amount of space available at the event. In addition to providing space for jammers, the institute is also hosting exclusive keynotes and an expert panel.

For more information on the programme and to register, visit https://maltagamejam.institutedigitalgames.com/.

---

VISUAL ARTS

Lampuki Moqli

The Phoenicia Hotel in Floriana is hosting an exhibition by artist Mariam De Giorgio until the end of January.

De Giorgio specialises in acrylic painting and illustration but also enjoys experimenting with ink, watercolours and mixed media. Her paintings have a distinctive personal style that allows viewers to enter a fantasy world. This is also due to the choice of palette, even when depicting real places and figures. 

The exhibition is curated by Charlene Vella.

Harmony in Motion

Joseph Casapinta’s lastest exhibition features watercolour-based works created both in his studio and during en plein air sessions. 

The title Harmony in Motion harks back to Casapinta's Dancing Brushes exhibition of 2008, which was about the harmonious ‘dancing’ movements of his brushwork that helped him develop a different style and technique while showing his love for our country’s past and present, through landscapes and urban scenes.

Harmony in Motion, hosted by Gemelli Art Gallery, Ta’ Qali Crafts Village, is open until January 31. Consult the artist’s Facebook page for more information.

The Dope Show

Etienne Farrell and Mark Mallia are opening another collaborative exhibition, whose mission statement reads: “The boring, aggressive and self-centred fools become more bearable and very often even comic.”

The artists assert that having met so many different people in the past few months, they coined the idea of putting up a circus, a sort of ‘freak’ show that includes many interesting characters. They say that they have undertook an ethnographic investigation of the facial features of people they came across, or their own subconscious representation of them.

The Dope Show, hosted by Obelisk Gallery, Main Street Balzan, is on until February 4. Log on to the event’s Facebook page for more information.

Also read the Times of Malta review.

Amygdala

Blitz is hosting an exhibition by Kim Sammut and curated by Sara Dolfi Agostini until February 9.

Sammut is the recipient of Blitz Valletta's competitive open call for a Malta-based emerging artist launched in 2022. As the chosen artist, she was granted the opportunity to present a new project produced and exhibited by Blitz.

This initiative is intended to give the successful applicant a curated platform to express themselves, an occasion to work one-to-one with an international curator on a new commission and improve their professional skills while promoting their artistic practice, while Blitz acts as a host institution, a mentor and partner.

The exhibition, supported by Arts Council Malta, is open at Blitz, 68, St Lucia Street, Valletta, from Wednesday to Friday from 2 to 5pm and on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm. It is closed from Sunday to Tuesday.

For more information, visit the gallery's Facebook page or https://blitzvalletta.com/. 

C'est la vie

Ceramist Joseph Agius is exhibiting a series of works focusing on various aspects of life at Il-Kamra ta' Fuq in Mqabba.

The exhibition title is meant as a tongue-in-cheek or sarcastic comment to highlight the alienation that we are surrounded with and the ‘laissez-faire’ way of life that we are so used to live in.

The theme focuses on various rules, attitudes and different social ‘traditions’, along with serious social issues, including migration, poverty, genocide and injustice.

The exhibition runs until February 12. For opening hours and more details, click here.

Also read this Times of Malta review.

Experiments in Entropy

The second law of thermodynamics states that as energy is transformed, it incrementally dissipates and tends towards loss, decay and waste. This is the process of entropy; a process of mutual construction and demolition. It applies to societies and to systems, as it does to the natural environment, and has generated curiosity since its peak in art production in the 1960s.

Ten architects, who collectively started architecture school a decade ago, have been asked to investigate trajectories of this narrative in their daily grind and the result is on show at the Valletta Contemporary until February 18. It is curated by Andrew Borg Wirth.

The gallery in East Street, Valletta, is open from Wednesdays to Saturdays from 2 to 7pm. It is closed between Sundays and Tuesdays. Look up the Valletta Contemporary Facebook page for more information. Also read this Times of Malta feature.

Anamnesis

Artist Clint Calleja is presenting an introspective exhibition consisting of paintings, sculptures, photography and installations revolving around the theme of ‘trauma and memory’.

Curated by Kenneth Cassar, this exhibition purports to be an intimate confession through four life-changing tragic chapters that have marked the artist and his family in a short period of time.

The exhibition, supported by Arts Council Malta, runs till February 26. For more information, visit kreattivita.org.

Anthological Art Exhibition

A retrospective exhibition by artist Mario Zammit-Lewis is on display at the parliament building in Valletta until February 28.

The exhibition explores the various aspects of the artist’s oeuvre that is stylistically and thematically very eclectic. A monograph, published to accompany the exhibition, is available for purchase at the venue.

Zammit-Lewis, born to a Maltese father and an Italian mother, has exhibited extensively abroad. He is the recipient of a number of international awards that have celebrated his accomplishments along the years.

Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturdays and Sundays from 8 am till noon.

Fragments

Landscapes artist Andew Borg is presenting his fourth solo exhibition, Fragments, at the Palm Court Lounge, at the Phoenicia in Floriana from February 3 to 28.

The exhibition, curated by Charlene Vella, features Sicilian landscapes as well Maltese ones, thus expressing the artist’s life of the last few months which has seen him living between the two Mediterranean islands.

The exhibition explores Borg’s current state of mind, one in which the Sicilian landscape is gaining the upper hand as he feels more attachment to the larger neighbour.

What'Chu Looking At? Who You Speaking With? A Gazing All Around

Spazju Kreattiv in Valletta is hosting a series of works by African creatives who explore the countless realities and situations that are present across the 54 countries making part of the continent of Africa.

The exhibition, commissioned by the creativity centre, runs till March 5. For more information, click here.

OTHER EXHIBITIONS

Carnival exhibition

Spazju Kreattiv, together with Festivals Malta, is once again organising a number of carnival-related activities at the creativity centre and in its surroundings.

The programme includes an exhibition of carnival costumes as well as the traditional Qarċilla, which has made a comeback in recent years.

The exhibition opens on February 2. Carnival will this year be held between February 17 and 21. 

Unseen and Unheard: Stories of Women Under Fire

The Storm Petrel Foundation is hosting an archival exhibition that sheds light on overlooked or previously unrecorded war narratives and microhistories from Malta and elsewhere.

It brings together items and artefacts drawn from different collections, with a primary focus on wartime experiences of women and girls.

The exhibition was inspired by a series of conversations between the NGO and Robert Attard, who had found a collection of letters written by a young German woman during World War II, some of which are on display.

The exhibition is organised across five different rooms at the Storm Petrel Foundation’s premises in Attard, with each room representing a different era or focus.

The Storm Petrel Foundation has collaborated with Simon Cusens, Kim Dalli, Sharp Shoot Media, Media Coop, Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta, Sarah Chircop and Giuliana Fenech, Heritage Malta, Fondazzjoni Wirt Artna and Palazzo Falson.

The exhibition runs until April 14. For opening hours and more information, visit the foundation's Facebook page.

Shoah the Holocaust: How Was It Humanly Possible?

The Tayar Foundation for Jewish Heritage in Malta has organised a Holocaust Memorial exhibition which will be displayed at three venues in Malta until June.

The exhibition deals with major historical aspects of the Holocaust, beginning with Jewish life in pre-Holocaust Europe and ending with the liberation of the Nazi concentration and extermination camps across the continent and the remarkable return to life of the survivors.

The display panels feature explanatory texts, with quotes from Jewish victims and survivors, photographs, art documents and videos for eight survivor stories.

The exhibition is open at the German-Maltese Circle in Valletta until March 12, opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 8am to 6pm; from March 13 to April 23 at MCAST Paola, opening hours Monday to Friday from 7am to 8pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 12.15pm (closed on Sundays); and from April 24 to June 4 at the University of Malta, Msida Campus, open from Monday to Friday from 7am to 11pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from 9am to 4.45pm.

For more information, visit shoah.jewishheritagemalta.org/.

whatson@timesofmalta.com