Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1463655
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 3 APRIL 2022 5 THEATRE It's all kid's play: Antigone, Macbeth and Ebejer's Ġaħan ta' Binġemma at Trikki Trakki Antonella Axisa directed the annual youth theatre festival Trikki Trakki's fifth edition TEATRU Malta's annual chil- dren's and youth theatre festi- val Trikki Trakki came to an end last weekend after months of preparation ahead of its final performances on Saturday 26 March. Led by festival director An- tonella Axisa, the festival saw a total of six participating schools from across Malta and Gozo come together for the Festival's first proper return to the the- atre since the COVID-19 pan- demic broke out. Now in its fifth consecutive year, Trikki Trakki offers chil- dren the opportunity to engage with working professionals from the theatre community, to gain first-hand experience and knowledge on how things are really done on stage and behind it. "Whether it's prop and cos- tume making, makeup, set de- sign or acting, all participating schools got the opportunity to dabble in it hands-on," Axi- sa said. "First through a series of workshops and eventually through further practical train- ing during the festival's produc- tion week at M Space." Leading a top-notch team of creatives, Axisa strongly be- lieves in the power of this fes- tival. "Trikki Trakki aims to give a taste to its participants of what theatre is all about, warts and all, hoping to instil a spark of love for the theatre in these students, and through the in- dustry professionals that they work with, show them that the- atre can also be a career choice, albeit not an easy one. "In this festival we ask for a huge commitment from the schools and the kids, but we do this consciously, because this reflects the complete dedica- tion that's necessary to work in the arts, survive, and keep doing it for years. Those who are still working as artists post-pan- demic will testify to this." Teatru Malta's Artistic Di- rector Sean Buhagiar is equally enthusiastic about Trikki Trak- ki: "Thanks to this festival, the kids get to play, experiment and make mistakes while exploring the endless possibilities of their imagination. "But they also get to realise how many opportunities there are aside from sitting in front of the TV or staring down at their mobile screen. They learn to take notice. They learn that en- tertainment can be challenging. I strongly believe that Trikki Trakki should never end. I can't wait for it to get to 50 years. And then to 500 years." Directors Malcolm Galea, Nicole Cuschieri, Joseph Galea, Jacob Piccinino, Isabelle Gatt and Lara Agius did an excep- tional job at working with the students from St Albert the Great College Valletta, St Ig- natius College Middle School Tal-Ħandaq, Malta Visual and Performing Arts School Ħam- run, Bishop's Conservatory Secondary School Gozo, St Theresa College Middle School Birkirkara, and San Ġorġ Preca Middle School Blata l-Bajda. Every year the directors are tasked with adapting existing theatre works, with the aim of familiarising the students with classical scripts and broadening their theatre knowledge, while working on fun and age-appro- priate adaptations. For this year's edition, the di- rectors chose to work on texts such as Sophocles' "Antigone", Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and Francis Ebejer's "Ġaħan ta' Binġemma", all of which were renamed to suit the nature of the festival. As per festival ethos, the props and costume team made up of Isabel War- rington and Maxime Durand managed to create everything from reused or recycled items: all costumes and props were ei- ther hired, adapted from exist- ing clothes, bought from char- ity shops and adapted, brought by the children, made from discarded items and stuff that would normally be thrown in the recycling bag. They repurposed the most obscure things: braids from laddered tights, old socks and tops were weaved into necklac- es, egg cartons became welding visors, takeaway cutlery made into crowns, pool noodles be- came nuggets, plastic bottles transformed into lettuce leaves, old curtains were sewn into dresses. "This was an essential element in the children's education pro- cess to make them aware of the impact that waste has on the planet, but also to encourage them to explore ways of push- ing the boundaries of their cre- ativity," Axisa said. Emphasising the educational process of the festival, makeup artist Krista Paris taught the participants how to put on their own stage make-up, challeng- ing them to experiment and ultimately nail their own make- up looks for their shows.