Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1478015
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 4 SEPTEMBER 2022 5 THEATRE 'Ossa di Crita/Bones of Clay' workshop and performance at Studio Solipsis OSSA di Crita is a performance of poetry and music by Mana Chuma Teatro that speaks of a deep connection with the land and the environments that shape our identities. The per- formance will be held at Studio Solipsis on the 16th September 2022. Poet-performer Massimo Ba- rilla will be giving a rendition of his poetry while composer and musician Luigi Polimeni will be performing live music on piano, synths and theremin. Elizabeth Grech and Adrian Grima will also be performing some of Ba- rilla's poetry in English and Mal- tese respectively. It is a performance loaded with a trove of imagery that transports audiences through contrasting landscapes;the mysteries of a child roaming his grandfather's bergamot orchard; the sea bashing the rocky coast, the seasons pass- ing over the rough hills of the Aspromonte encircling the city of Reggio overlooking the sea; the emotions and memo- ries sown in the warm soil of the surrounding hinterlands, sprinkled all around the vil- lages perched above the Strait of Messina. It is a poetry that also goes underground, grow- ing physical and metaphorical roots, the depths of the Earth where both memories and hope reside. The performance is bathed by a dynamic Mediterranean spir- it and the soundscapes that Ba- rilla gives us are driven by the ancient sounds of the dialect of Reggio Calabria, a dialect that is little accessible to peo- ple outside the region of Cal- abria. The audience glimpses at meanings but it is the sonor- ity of this ancient tongue rich in alliterations together with Polimeni's evocative score that gives the emotional force to the performance. Barilla's po- etry becomes a flow of beauti- fully orchestrated sounds from which images arise. Besides the performance, Barilla and Polimeni will be giving an intensive two-hour workshop on the elements of dramaturgy and the building blocks of composition, based on sound and word, on Friday the 16th September. The workshop is open to po- ets and performers of any skill level and experience. Those in- terested are requested to book their place in advance. For more information contact admin@studiosolipsis.com or through the social media chan- nels of Studio Solipsis.