Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1219206
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 MARCH 2020 5 preciate the performance even more because they won't have to worry about the linear nar- rative. While editing the video I decided to add text inserts, similarly to silent movies, to help the audience connect the dots between the scenes. With this mix of different influences and disciplines at play, how would you say this production follows on from your previous work? With each of my projects I like to tackle new challenges and different aesthetics. Over the past few years I have been developing my own method of applying video-art to mu- sic and Kafka's Insect was an opportunity to fully explore this technique. My last per- formance, 'Min Hi?' portrayed a series of grotesque scenes in a theatrical setting. Kafka's In- sect is a very different project but there is definitely a bizarre element in the narrative as well as grotesque aesthetics of the insect – represented through digitally animated vignettes portraying Gregor's psycholog- ical struggle between man and insect. What do you make of the per- forming arts scene in Malta? The main problem I see with the local performing arts scene is that most artists do not pro- mote their work beyond the national territory. This seclud- ed platform has an impact on the quality of the work which hardly ever reaches the bench- mark for international touring. I currently have four projects touring internationally. Hope- fully Kafka's Insect will be the fifth production in my portfo- lio targeting international fes- tivals and theatres. What's next for you? I share my time between com- posing, producing new work and touring. I have three new projects in the pipeline which will premier consecutively in 2021, 2022 and 2023. Last year the city of Bad Is- chl reached out for a new chil- dren's opera as part of the Eu- ropean Capital of Culture 2024 in Austria, so I am looking for- ward to this collaboration. The Malta International Arts Festival is another important strand. I enjoy curating the programme as artistic director together with my program- ming team and the support of Festivals Malta. Working as a freelance composer and pro- ducer is always a challenge and a struggle… but I like the en- ergy. It's not just work – it's a lifestyle. Kafka's Insect is supported by the Malta Arts Fund and will be held at the Valletta Campus Theatre on March 21 and 22 at 8pm. Bookings: www.ticket- line.com THIS WEEK THEATRE "Working as a freelance composer and producer is always a challenge and a struggle… but I like the energ y" Kafka's Insect adapts Franz Kafka's The Meta- morphosis through an in- terdisciplinary lens at the Valletta Campus Theatre