Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1098850
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 MARCH 2019 CULTURE ENVIRONMENT Black, yellow, white and red are the unmistakable livery of this elegant little songster. The goldfinch (M: gardell) is one of seven finch species that drop in regularly as they travel north or south across the Mediterranean. Goldfinches are frequent visitors in spring and autumn, and a few stay the winter too if they're lucky, feeding on thistle seeds which they expertly tweeze out with their delicate beaks. Gold- finches breed all around us – in every single European and North African country in fact – but they don't nest here, and that's because we don't respect them enough to protect them properly. On paper, finch trapping is illegal in Malta but the reality is very different. As recent footage by CABS and BirdLife amply show, finch trapping is very much alive and kicking. And goldfinches feature among the tens of thousands of songbirds being caught, traded and caged for life. For a song. 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 558: Find out more by visiting https://foemalta.org/film Text: Victor Falzon Photo: Aron Tanti 654. GOLDFINCH ONLY a few days left till the second edition of Trikki Trakki, the Youth Theatre Festival organ- ised by the national theatre company Teatru Malta, arrives in a blue box near you. You guessed right, after weeks of rehearsals, six groups of local 10 to 11-year-old students from schools all across Malta will be directed by popular names like Malcolm Galea, Josette Ciappara, Anthony Bezzina, Stephen Oliver, Isabelle Gatt, and Isabel Warrington as they perform six adaptations of classic texts for their audiences at M Space's Blue Box theatre in Msida. The idea to re-adapt the likes of Homer's 'The Odyssey' into a fifteen minute show, in Maltese for children, seemed challenging to say the least; but these were challenges that festival director An- tonella Axisa welcomed with open arms: "We want to promote excellence in all the theatre arts from a very young age and we are giving these kids this incredible opportunity to do what they love for a full-time week and get a taste of what the profes- sional theatre world is like out there. The enthusi- asm and commitment shown by these students has blown us away." The aim to create a festival for children by chil- dren sprung from Teatru Malta's first programme in 2018. Why not have our children fully immerse themselves in the world of theatre? Not only by performing, learning lines and dressing up but also by making their own costumes, contributing their own ideas to the scripts and learning how to apply their own stage make-up! These kids are the future of theatre and judging by the shows they'll be put- ting on for schools on the 5th April and the pub- lic on Saturday the 6th April, the future is looking very bright! All these shrunken classical adaptations will be performed in a mixture of Maltese and English shows in an effort to encourage bilingualism. They promise to be a treat for everyone, especially for all those who know the originals and can really see what the students, together with their respective directors, have managed to cleverly create with the original works of Moliere, Shakespeare, Homer, Aeschylus and Chekhov. Trikki Trakki is a show for the whole family. Come and support local young talent this April and get ready to have these talented kids blow you away with their stellar shows. What Trikki Trakki is doing is truly inspiring and the children can't wait to have you in their audience. Trikki Trakki Youth Theatre Festival will be per- formed at Blue Box Theatre at M Space, Msida on the 6th of April at 5pm and 6.15pm. This festival is supported by the Drama Unit and the Ministry for Education and Employment. For more informa- tion and to buy your 2 euro tickets please visit kultura.mt. Trikki Trakki youth theatre festival Trikki Trakki is a show for the whole family