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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 25 SEPTEMBER 2022 4 THEATRE A string symphony with Carmine Lauri THE MPO returns to the iconic Teatru Manoel for a String Symphony, featuring eminent violinist Carmine Lauri. Following the great success of String Serenades online as well as the sold out live per- formance, Lauri returns to lead the MPO (Malta Phil- harmonic Orchestra) Strings in a concert featuring a va- riety of works for A String Symphony. Boasting an in- ternational career, Lauri is the Co-Leader of the London Symphony Orchestra and is a recipient of the National Order of Merit – M.O.M. The programme will fea- ture a wide array of works for strigs by Schubert and Suk, apart from Mendels- sohn's Symphony No. 10, composed at the tender age of 14. Lauri takes the centre stage for Tchaikovsky's virtuoso piece, Valse-Scherzo in C major. The concert marks the MPO's first performance at Teatru Manoel during its 22/23 Concert Season, following on the sold-out Four Seasons and a number of chamber music evenings presented earlier on the year. This concert is presented with the support of Henley & Partners. For more on the orchestra's 22/23 Concert Season, visit: https://maltaorchestra.com/ New production in Maltese shines a light on poverty in Malta INSPIRED by real-life accounts of poverty in Malta, Ta' Fuqha Senduqha is an original play in Maltese penned by André Mangion and directed by Toni Attard. Theatre and film actress Michela Farrugia, plays Ruth in the leading role of the production, a girl with a good head on her shoulders who finds herself homeless and straddling the poverty line. The play explores what it means to be poor and goes beyond statistics, social benefits, low wages and infla- tion. Poverty is not always a question of wealth. Ruth's hopes and struggles are deeply affected by the charac- ters that surround her, brought to life by theatre favour- ites Josette Ciappara, Charles Sammut, Sharon Bezzina and Clint Chricop, that, at times, push her further down into the depths of poverty or offer some much needed support. Ta' Fuqha Senduqha was conceived following an in- tense period of research and development conducted by the author with a number of organisations that work closely with people who are in similar situations. This was the catalyst for the play. Though the story is a fictional one, the characters played by the stellar cast are inspired by everyday peo- ple that are deeply rooted in Maltese reality. In collaboration with YMCA, the production will be holding a food drive to help 150 people including 75 families with 55 people living in YMCA facilities. Ideally, donated products are to be long shelf life foods and may be handed in before the performances. Dona- tions may also be sent to the Creative Incubator in Żur- rieq from Monday to Friday between 9am to 1pm. Ta' Fuqha Senduqha will be staged at the Spazju Kreat- tiv Theatre between the 14th till the 23rd of October with tickets available for purchase at www.kreattivita.org Ta' Fuqha Senduqha is an Udjenza and Spazju Kreat- tiv co-production with the support of Arts Council Mal- ta. For more information visit www.udjenza.com