DANCE
Dance Festival Malta
The multi-disciplinary festival, being organised by Festivals Malta between July 24 and 27 in various venues in Valletta and Floriana, offers a dynamic platform for intensive training and artistic growth.
It features an inspiring programme of workshops, masterclasses and performances by renowned local and international artists and choreographers, celebrating the richness of global dance cultures.
Just before the main events, the festival is launching its Artivism Platform with Connecting Silent Voices, a project focusing on the marginalisation and exploitation of women in the sex industry.
Connecting Silent Voices is supported by Perform Europe and led by the Biloura Intercultural Arts Collective from Italy. It is an international collaboration involving WomanUp from Bulgaria, Artpolis from Kosovo and Dance Beyond Borders from Malta.
The main performance is Silent Voices, being held on July 22 at 7.30pm at the Valletta Campus Theatre. It will be followed by a Q&A session. 20% of all proceeds from this performance will be donated to Dar Hosea.
More information is available on www.dfm.mt.
Dance Festival Malta is organised by Festivals Malta with the support of the Ministry for Culture, Lands and Local Government.
THEATRE
King Lear
MADC is this year staging King Lear for its annual summertime appointment at San Anton Gardens, Attard.
Directed by Chris Gatt, the production features an all-star cast, who are performing in period costumes with a Game of Thrones-inspired aesthetic designed by Nicole Cuschieri.
Stephen Oliver plays the title role. He is joined by Faye Paris, Daniela Carabott Pawley, Melissa Mercieca, Michael Mangion, Simone Ellul and Edward Caruana Galizia, among other cast members.
The production is on this weekend and from July 23 to 27 at 8pm. It is suitable for audiences aged 10+. Tickets are available at www.madc.com.mt.
The cast during a performance of King Lear. Photo: Facebook/MADCShakespeare: The Pub Trilogy
WhatsTheirNames Theatre are celebrating 10 years of their Shakespeare at the Pub show with Shakespeare: The Pub Trilogy, featuring their take on the Bard’s plays Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing at the Queen Victoria City Pub, Valletta, from July 23 to August 8.
Tickets may be bought from https://tr.ee/WCRGOx-3Iv.
Read also this Times2 preview.
Photo: Jacob SammutMUSIC
Beethoven & Scriabin
The first prize winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, Ji Young Lim, is joining the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, led by Sergey Smbatyan, to perform Beethoven’s celebrated Violin Concerto in D. Major, Op. 61 at the Grand Master Suite, Hilton Malta, St Julian’s, on July 26 at 8pm.
The programme also includes Alexander Scriabin’s Le Poème de l’Extase, which expresses spiritual ecstasy through its complex harmonies and powerful emotional intensity, and Igor Stravinsky’s ballet Le Baiser de la Fée, which pays homage to Tchaikovsky.
Tickets from showshappening.com.
Tribute to ABBA
The Malta Concert Orchestra, led by Matthew Bugeja, is celebrating ABBA’s greatest hits in a live show at Pjazza Teatru Rjal, Valletta, on July 25 at 8.30pm.
The Swedish pop group shot to fame in 1974 when they won the Eurovision Song Contest with their song Waterloo. The MCO will perform this and other all-time favourites such as Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia, Money Money Money, Super Trouper and The Winner Takes It.
The orchestra will be accompanied by a number of local singers.
Tickets from ticketline.com.mt.
Xwejni Music Fest
Xwejni Music Fest returns to Il-Qolla l-Bajda Battery, limits of Xwejni Bay, Marsalforn, on July 26 at 8.30pm.
Performing on the night will be Kurt Calleja and band, Straitahead, Ryan Spiteri and special guests Ivan Grech and Band.
The free event will be hosted by Keane Cutajar. Free parking and a free park-and-ride service will also be available.
Visit the event’s Facebook page for more information.
A past performance at the festival. Photo: FacebookFILM
Roger Waters: This Is Not a Drill − Live From Prague
The Eden Cinemas in St Julian’s is showing Roger Waters’s farewell tour, This is not a Drill, live from Prague, the Czech Republic, on July 23 at 8.45pm and on the 27th at 3.30pm.
The cinematic extravaganza, certified 15, will feature 20 classic Pink Floyd and Roger Waters songs, including Us & Them, Comfortably Numb, Wish You Were Here and Is This the Life We Really Want?. Waters will also debut his new song, The Bar.
Waters will be joined on stage by Jonathan Wilson, Dave Kilminster, Jon Carin, Gus Seyffert, Robert Walter, Joey Waronker, Shanay Johnson, Amanda Belair and Seamus Blake for an unforgettable performance with a call to action to love and protect the planet.
Tickets from edencinemas.com.mt.
Kinemastik International Short Film Festival
The 21st edition of the Kinemastik Short Film Festival is being held on July 25 and 26 at the Msida Bastion Cemetery and Historic Garden.
Film screenings will be held between 9 and 11pm, followed by live music and DJ sets featuring London-based synthesiser player Danalogue and Anglo-Maltese musician and producer Capitol K.
For more information, visit kinemastik.org and the Kinemastik Facebook page.
The festival is organised with the help of the Malta Arts Council, through the Investment in Cultural Organisations Fund.
Read more about the festival in this Times2 preview.
Screenshot from Daphne. Photo: C. GallagherMalta Cine Circle National Film Competition awards ceremony and film screenings
The Malta Cine Circle is holding the awards ceremony and screening of the winning films of the 65th edition of its National Film Competition at the Amphitheatre Hall, the Marriott Hotel, Balluta, St Julian’s, on July 26 at 7.30pm.
Admission is by reservation but is open to the public free of charge. E–mail bookings@maltacinecircle.org or call on 9946 0866.
Read more about the competition here.
A scene from one of the winning films, We Three Kings by Bruce Micallef Eynaud.Miscellaneous
Sunset Market in the Palazzo Gardens
Malta Artisan Markets is hosting a sunset market in the gardens of Palazzo Parisio, Naxxar, on July 27 from 6 to 11pm.
Talented crafters, creators and designers will offer unique, handcrafted products: from handmade jewellery and ceramics to gourmet foods and eco-conscious home goods.
There will also be live demonstrations and family-friendly activities.
Entrance is free.
The Malta Gin Festival
Ta’ Xbiex seafront is hosting the second edition of the Malta Gin Festival on July 26 from 7pm onwards.
Besides a wide selection of gins by Malta’s most prominent gin importers, there will be live music by Tattika Band and Christian Arding, and Italian and Spanish food stalls.
Entrance is free. Visit the event’s Facebook page for more information.
Salt Fest/Festa Melħ
BirdLife Malta is organising a weekend of nature, culture, sustainability and community at the Salina Nature Reserve on July 26 and 27 from 4 to 8.30pm.
Visitors will enjoy the experience of salt harvesting, local crafts and workshops, talks and historical tours, an eco-market, food and more.
Entrance is free. Visit the event’s Facebook page for more details.
Volunteers at the Salini salt pans. Photo: BirdLifewhatson@timesofmalta.com