Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1037099
maltatoday 11 | SUNDAY • 7 OCTOBER 2018 CULTURE ENVIRONMENT THE lesser kestrel is one of the falcon species that yearly migrates over Malta. As autumn migration progresses, Bird- Life's birdwatchers log this bird along with many other spe- cies travelling from Europe to spend winter in Africa. The lesser kestrel (M. spanjulett sekond) is less common than its larger and very similar cousin – the common kestrel – but it comes with the bonus that it is often seen in loose flocks. That's because unlike most birds of prey, lesser kestrels nest in colonies, i.e. groups. There are breeding colonies all around us: Sicily, Tunisia and Libya. But naturally, not here – not with our big posse of trigger-happy 'socio-cultural' hunters. Until the killing of birds diminishes substantially, a colony of lesser kestrels will remain a spectacle Maltese nature lovers must travel to enjoy. 629. LESSER KESTREL Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 532 Find out more and try our delicious recipe: www.foemalta.org/fab/pomegranate Text Victor Falzon Photo Aron Tanti MALTA'S biggest taboo – abortion – will take centre stage in a new play, which ex- poses a reality often played out behind the scenes. 'De-terminated' is gleaned from a series of interviews carried out in 2017 with women and men (all Maltese nationals bar one) who went through the abortion experi- ence as well as activists on both side of the debate. Malta has the strictest abor- tion laws in the world and the termination of a pregnancy remains illegal under any cir- cumstances. "As much as we pretend it's not happening, many Maltese women and men are faced with the dilemma. I wanted to see if abortion could ever be discussed without hysteria," author and director Herman Grech says. The characters in the play weave out the intolerance, fear and frustration where it comes to abortion in Malta. The stories range from a girl who explains why she chose to have an abortion after she was violently raped, to the man who forced his partner to terminate her pregnancy and is nowadays an anti-abor- tion advocate. "I insisted on getting char- acters from both sides of the spectrum because of the ex- treme narrative choking out any semblance of a debate on abortion in Malta. How many times do we hear people screaming at each other know- ing they aren't armed with even the basic facts?," Grech said. The author chose a narra- tive/documentary perspective style of theatre for a subject which has never been tackled in detail on a Maltese stage. "You might choose to disa- gree with someone's views/ the way someone dealt with the issue – but you can't say it didn't happen." The one-act play features six of Malta's finest actors – Alan Paris, Isabel Warrington, Charlotte Grech, Marta Vella, Jes Camilleri and Jo Caruana. A Spazju Kreattiv co-pro- duction and supported by the Malta Arts Fund, De-termi- nated will be staged on Octo- ber 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, and 28. Booking from http://www. kreattivita.org/en/event/de- terminated/. Certified 15, the play will be accompanied by a sound in- stallation by Yasmin Kuymi- zakis. Abortion takes centre stage in Maltese theatre What's in season – October GAULITANA will once again present a series of vocal mas- ter classes with Maltese inter- nationally renowned soprano Miriam Gauci between the 3rd and 6th January, 2019. Morning and afternoon ses- sions will be held on Thursday 3rd and Friday 4th, followed by a coaching session on Saturday 5th and a concluding concert on Sunday 6th. A repetiteur shall be in residence. A select number of partici- pants will be offered a joint concert as part of the upcom- ing 13th edition of Gaulitana: A Festival of Music. Interested singers can obtain the application form by email- ing gaulitanafestival@gmail. com. The masterclass fee is €100. Applications should be sent together with a CV and a €10 application fee. These will be received until the 11th Novem- ber 2018, and the chosen par- ticipants will be notified within two weeks of the deadline date. Vocal master class with Miriam Gauci