Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1176246
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 OCTOBER 2019 9 CULTURE THEATRE FOLLOWING the unprecedented public reaction to a series of string ap- pearances by a masked woman now dubbed the ''Doll-Smasher of Żebbuġ'', Teatru Malta would like to remind everyone that this was in fact, part of a series of street performances that were announced in their programme for 2019 just last January. These street theatre performances, which have so far occurred in Zeb- bug, Marsaxlokk, Sliema and during the Gudja village feast, were part of a project called ''Min Hi?'', being led by local artist Ruben Zahra, and inspired by a short story written by his father, house-hold name Trevor Zahra. The purpose of these street perfor- mances being unannounced so far was by no means intended to be a publicity stunt. The intention was purely artistic and one directly related to the short story written by Trevor Zahra titled ''Gerita''; one from a collection of short stories from his award win- ning publication ''Penumbra'' which describes the story of an unknown witch who travels from village to vil- lage. In the story, ''Gerita appeared for the very first time on the eve of the village feast; chopping up dolls with a nougat knife as she covered them in tomato ketchup.'' ''When Ruben and I were planning Min Hi?, the script and the show were created simultaneously, making sure one bounced off and complemented the other seamlessly. We hope that this will be a unique poetic experi- ence of stylised macabre theatre, for everyone to enjoy,'' says writer Tre- vor Zahra. In fact, the street installations were designed with all audiences in mind, despite popular assumption. These pop-up shows, although related, are in no way tied to the 12+ age recom- mendation of the final four perfor- mances, which are happening at the Rialto. The street installations will con- tinue to run until the 12th of Octo- ber with a final two set to take place on Tuesday 8th October in Valletta, in front of Pjazza Teatru Rjal, and in Birgu on Saturday 12th during the highly anticipated Birgu by Candle- light. These final two street installa- tions were always intended to be the only two announced performances of the lot, which explains the silence thus far from Teatru Malta's end. Director and composer of the show, Ruben Zahra said that "Different de- mographics are bound to react differ- ently and while some will find it chal- lenging, others will just as well find it appalling and perhaps controversial even'' - "this is the sort of conversa- tion that theatre is meant to spark - give people a subject and they'll pro- ject their own fears and agendas onto it, it's very interesting to see. The street performances would have lost all scope if they were announced''. Teatru Malta's artistic director Se- an Buhagiar states that "It was very interesting to see how street theatre became the subject of fake news on social media. History of theatre has shown that street theatre can be very effective in instigating human con- versation, it is produced regularly by theatre companies all over the world''. ''It is also very present in our tradi- tions, however it is was treated dif- ferently because of the common fear of the unknown. It's our responsi- bility as the National Theatre com- pany to take risks, and we strive to programme work which breaks new ground." Buhagiar also confirms that '' just because we're risk takers doesn't mean we don't follow the rules, and that's why all official authorisation, permits and risk assessments were in place before each street performance. We now look forward to the shows at the Rialto''. The Min Hi? project will reach its height during a haunting one-woman theatre production on Thursday 31st of October. The hour-long theatre production will be staged at the spell- binding Rialto in Bormla. This will be the first time in several years that the art-deco cinema on the Cospicua sea-front, will be re-open- ing its doors to the general public for a professional theatre show. Maltese actress Lee-N Abela, also known as the woman behind the now notorious mask, will take the floor and perform a series of obscure narra- tives in Maltese based on a variety of popular female characters through- out history. Soprano Nadia Vella will also be singing live throughout the performance. Audiences can expect to see a num- ber of beguiling scenes unfold before their very eyes, featuring music box- es, puppets, chandeliers, snails, dolls and other curiosities. Seating is limited and the produc- tion will premiere on Halloween night and runs between the 31st of October and the 3rd of November for four chilling nights only. To book your tickets for Min Hi? visit kultura.mt or visit teatrumalta. org.mt for more information. The real story behind the masked lady Photo: Elisa von Brockdorff