Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/294639
28 THIS WEEK CULTURE | TV | FILM CINEMA LISTINGS FOOD | WHAT'S ON THIS WEEK Shakespere re-tooled on trip from Yorkshire to Malta TEODOR RELJIC WHAT You Will – A Sea Dog's Tale is a fresh take on Shake- speare's comedy Twelfth Night which is transferring to St James Cavalier in Valletta, Malta, after a short tour in South Yorkshire. The result of an international art- ist collaboration between South Yorkshire theatre company Grif- fin Theatre Arts and Maltese company, Curtain Call Produc- tions, What You Will will be per- formed from April 25 to 27 and May 1 to 5. The evening aims to bring Twelfth Night alive to a wid- er – and possibly younger – gen- eral audience. Aside from Simone Ellul and Chris Galea as actors, the Maltese element of the production will be completed by Alison Shaw, an up- and-coming young Maltese artist, who has worked on the characters and cut-outs for the shadow thea- tre, and has also created a stop- motion video containing over 400 different individual images which were then put together. The project has seen actors, di- rectors and visual artists from both the UK and Malta uniting to create a new piece of theatre that celebrates the brilliance of Shake- speare's writing, making it acces- sible and enjoyable to those less familiar with his work. The pro- duction is being presented during the week of the 450th Anniversary from Shakespeare's birth, making it an ideal time to celebrate Shake- speare's legacy. "The production and artistic team is very small and is well- balanced in terms of nationali- ties, and it has been an interesting experience working together and bringing together our different pockets of knowledge into a melt- ing-pot that we have all gained from," Ellul said. The action takes place on board a 17th Century sailing boat, onto which a young Will Shakespeare stumbles searching for high seas and adventures. Shakespeare is told the story of an Illyrian ship- wreck, and watches as the sailors make scenes come to life. Soon Shakespeare is whisked up in the action too, and the story of Twelfth Night unfolds in front of the audiences' eyes. The aim of the production is to make watching Shakespeare an entertaining, enjoyable and acces- sible experience. "We have created a fun, fast- paced and imaginative play in- troducing Shakespeare's comedy, Twelfth Night. Using ropes, bar- rels, storytelling, music, Shake- speare's play, shadow theatre and anything else that comes to hand; young Will Shakespeare and a band of sailors, will conjure up a storm where twins are torn asun- der and shipwrecked sailors are tossed upon a foreign shore," El- lul said. While Simone Ellul and Sarah Clough are the project creators and text adaptors, the rehearsal process was a collaborative one, with ideas being shared and ex- perimented before being final- ised. Clough is the Artistic Direc- tor of Griffin Theatre Arts, a Sheffield-based theatre company that excites, engages and inspires children, young people and fami- lies in active participation and enjoyment of the arts. Its work is creative, original and educates through practical engagements that inspire exploration and thought, using the arts to enter- tain, educate, unite and inspire through the exploration and crea- tion of original work, in a variety of tradition and non-traditional performance spaces. HSBC Malta increases commitment to €275,000 for the Erardi Vault at Victory Church HSBC Malta Foundation has increased its commitment to- wards Din l-Art Ħelwa with an additional €75,000 in financial support for the ongoing resto- ration of Our Lady of Victory Church 's vault ceiling. This was announced by HSBC CEO Mark Watkinson during a visit to the Valletta church in the presence of Professor David Park, Direc- tor of the Conservation of Wall Painting Department, Courtauld Institute of Art, London. With HSBC's support for Ales- sio Erardi 's masterpiece, Din l-Art Ħelwa, is restoring, con- serving and enhancing the spir- itual and historical significance of Our Lady of Victory Church, Valletta's oldest building which is intricately linked to the cit y's foundation and history. "As the first church of the capi- tal cit y, adorned, amongst oth- ers, with paintings by the Mal- tese artist Alessio Erardi, Our Lady of Victory Church is an in- valuable cornerstone of Malta's history which deserves the very best professional care and at- tention," said HSBC CEO Mark Watkinson. Din l-Art Ħelwa's Executive President Simone Mizzi replied that HSBC's substantial increase in funding ensures that conser- vation on Erardi 's scenes from the Life of the Virgin, will be successfully and professionally concluded by 2015. "We are also thrilled because this will coin- cide with Din l-Art Ħelwa' Gold- en jubilee," she said. While stressing that the vault is a very important part of the conservation needed, Ms Mizzi reiterated that much else is still to be done. She expressed much gratitude to HSBC Malta Foun- dation, the Courtauld Institute conservators and Prof. David Park, who visited specifically to view progress on the ceiling at Our Lady of Victory. Prof. Park commented, "I am absolutely delighted by the progress which has been going faster than expected, while still observing the high standards set. This is the fourth consecutive professional task undertaken by the Courtauld Institute of Art on wall paintings in Malta, which include work at the Magisterial Palace and the Co-Cathedral. The task here has presented many exceptional difficulties, but work on the splendid Erardi ceiling is coming to a very suc- cessful conclusion." He augured well for the com- pletion of all the other work needed to finally restore the Church to its original glory.