Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1485769
maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 NOVEMBER 2022 4 CULTURE Innovative immersive experience to be launched in Senglea FROM the 30th November, visitors to the town of Senglea will be able to embark upon a totally unique immersive ex- perience. 'It Happened here: Stella' tells the story of a young woman who lived in the town during the post-war period as she tries to get to grips with how her life has been turned upside down. Conceived, written and di- rected by local theatre veter- ans Malcolm Galea and Philip Leone-Ganado, this story is exciting in the way that it's ex- perienced. The piece is presented as a mo-bile phone app which was developed by game designer David Chircop. After downloading it for free, people go to the main church in Senglea to activate the first scene which they hear through their headphones. After that, they're free to ex- plore the town and the story as they wish, with new locations unveiling different parts of the narrative. The result is a haunting and altogether beautiful immersive adventure that's steeped in the rich history of the town. Peo- ple can start the story togeth- er, follow different paths, and meet up at the end to discuss their experience. The project was inspired by walking simulators: vid- eo games where players walk around a location to piece to- gether a story. The only difference is that instead of sitting behind a screen, players walk in real life – all the while exploring the beautiful town of Senglea and learning about its tempestu- ous history through the story's trou-bled characters. 'It Happened Here: Stella' was developed for Science in the City with the support of the Arts Council Malta, the Mal- ta Chamber of Scientists and the Senglea Local Council. The story was built up following a number of interviews with life- long residents of the town. The project will be launched on the 30th November at 10am at the Senglea Local Council. Fol-lowing that, it will be per- manently available for locals and visitors alike to experience through their mobile phones. A haunting and altogether beautiful immersive adventure that's steeped in the rich history of the town. People can start the story together, follow different paths, and meet up at the end to discuss their experience. 12 choirs for the Malta International Christmas Choir Festival 2022 12 choirs and a musical trio will participate in five unique concerts, to be held at differ- ent churches in Kottonera and Żabbar, bet ween Friday 2nd and Sunday 4th Decem- ber. These choirs will be sing- ing various Christmas carols and other songs from their respective repertoires. Apart from this, some of the choirs will be also animating the Sunday 4th December morn- ing mass, at different church- es. These groups are coming from Italy, Lithuania, Bul- garia, Slovakia and obviously from Malta. These are the venues where this International Festival will be held: • Friday 2nd December: St. Joseph Parish Church – Kalkara – 7.15pm; St. Theresa Church – Cos- picua – 7.15pm. • Saturday 3rd Decem- ber: Our Lady of Porto Salvo Church – Senglea – 7.15pm.; Our Lady of Graces Sanctuary - Żab- bar – 7.30pm. • Sunday 4th December: International Choirs animating the Sun- day Mass: St. Barbara Church (Capuchins) - Kalkara – 10 am; An- nuciation Church – Vit- toriosa – 10am; The Nativity of our Lady Ba- silica Collegiate Church – Senglea – 10.30am; The Immaculate Con- ception Collegiate Church – Cospicua – 11.30am. • Sunday 4th Decem- ber: Final Concert: St. Lawrence Conventu- al Collegiate Church - Vittoriosa – 7.15pm. A spectacular concert with the participation of all International Choirs ending up with the offi- cial presentations. The choirs participating are the following: Music & Joy Chamber Choir from Bulgaria; Liepos Choir from Lithuania; St. Joseph Choir from Malta; Orpheus Choir from Bulgaria; Sva- jone Choir from Lithuania; Tota Pulchra Choir from Malta; Piccolo Grande Coro Oschirese from Italy; Notre Dame Choir from Malta; No- na Choir from Lithuania; St. Julians Choral Group from Malta; Chernomorski Zvutsi Choir from Bulgaria; Joy Gos- pel Singers from Malta. The Slovakian musical trio "Timad" will be introducing the concerts. Brian Bonnici and Debbie Scerri will be the hosts of all mentioned concerts. Entrance for all the Mal- ta International Christmas Choir Festival 2022 concerts is free of charge. These choirs will be singing various Christmas carols and other songs from their respective repertoires. Apart from this, some of the choirs will be also animating the Sunday 4th December morning mass, at different churches