Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/298224
THIS WEEK FROM cutting edge art installations to a collaborative dance premier, from popular concerts to the high drama of opera and from jazz and gospel music to socially inspired projects, Pjazza Teatru Rjal (PTR) promises a "vibrant and eclectic" calendar of events this spring. Upcoming highlights include an Easter Sunday Jazz and Gospel concert by Rino Cirinnà and Animae Gospel Choir today at 8pm. Entrance to this event is free. A concert by the Malta Youth Orchestra will also be held on 25 April at 8pm. In May, Pjazza Teatru Rjal will host the World Show on 3 May, followed by a piano virtuoso concert by world- famous Russian pianist Yuri Rozum to be staged on 4 May. Borderless/Bla Konfini, a collaborative dance premier by Mavin Khoo as part of the Fon- dazzjoni Ċelebrazzjonijiet Nazzjonali, will follow on 10-11 May. Micronation Series, a Malta Design Week Satellite Project by Norbert Francis Attard will run between 17-24 May while Tal- ent Unmasked: A Night of Creation, a performance by Aġenzija Sapport will be held on 23 May. On 30 May, the theatre is expected to play to a full house for an Evening with Ira Losco & Friends. May will close off with a con- cert by the Royal Marines Association on 31 May. June will open on a high note, with the opera La Traviata being held be- tween 7 and 8 June. Kiss the Sky, a site- specific sculpture by Vince Briffa, will run between 4 June and 16 July, while the Malta Police Band will hold a con- cert on 28 June. Pjazza Teatru Rjal is also one of the two main venues for the staging of this year's edition of the Malta Arts Festival. "We are offering our audience a panorama of art, music, drama, ballet and all kinds of art performances in the hope that Pjazza Teatru Rjal will once again become a much visited and admired meeting place for all social classes," said Pjazza Teatru Rjal chair Charles 'is-City' Gatt at the launch. Also present were PTR general man- ager Jason Masini, Malta Council for Culture and the Arts chairman Albert Marshall and Culture Minister Owen Bonnici. Beside them, a chandelier was sus- pended on one of the plinths of the arts space – an installation by Pierre Portelli that is set to catch the atten- tion of the public walking through City Gate, turning random passersby into an audience. The installation has just opened and will run until the last week of May. Situated at the entrance of the capital city Valletta, a UNESCO world herit- age site, Pjazza Teatru Rjal has always been much more than the stones from which it is made. With its layers of his- tory and memory, it is also a monu- ment, a shrine – and, now, a vibrant creative space. Flanked by St Cather- ine's Church and the Church of Our Lady of Victories, its underground spaces and passages run beneath the capital, a part of the city's cultural, ar- tistic and social fabric. Massive steel structures and wood- en flooring are interlinked with huge stone foundations that are still visible, exposed during the restoration works. Stone walls grow out of hewn rock and high glass windows shed light on old archways. Tangible and intangi- ble, present and past, mix palpably in these spaces. Originally built by Edward Middle- ton Barry in 1866, in 1873 its interior was extensively damaged by a fire and was restored by 1877. In 1942 the thea- tre received a direct hit through aerial bombing, with loss of life. As the years passed, controversy raged on its re- building; meanwhile the ruins lay idle, a wartime scar in a changing city. Recently restored by Italian archi- tect Renzo Piano, it is now the best open-air theatre in Malta and offers important backstage facilities like a stage manager's desk, changing rooms and showers. Fully accessible for disa- bled people, both actors and audience, it also boasts a state-of-the-art audio system. Initially dubbed "the roofless theatre", it has recently come into its own as Pjazza Teatru Rjal, a vibrant artistic and creative centre which – like art, like memory – is set to inhabit a cultural and social dimension much larger than its physical space. FROM the madcap team that brought you Burlesque Blitz and a number of other Burlesque shows comes yet another night of raunchy high-concept tomfoolery, this time traveling all the way back in time to the Middle Ages. Taking place at the Knigret Knight Club in Rabat on the 26 and 27 April, the Dazzle Troupe brings you The Burlesque Inquisition - a show that promises to be different, dark and ultimately hilarious. In this installment, three 'holy men' are charged with judging a group of heretics. Will they forgive their sins, or consign them to hell by auto-da-fe (that's 'human matchstick' for those not in the know). The heretics will dance, sing, and be funny for their supper (or rather, their life), while you can sit back and enjoy the show. Performers on the night include: Alex Vella Gregory, Joseph Zam- mit, Vee Stivala, What's their names Theatre, Becky D'Ugo, Miriam Calleja, Marie Claire Pellegrini, Marie Claire Camilleri, Kevin Can- ter, Sarah Lanzon, Rambert Attard, Joe Depasquale and Yannick Massa Tickets at 15 euros can be purchased by logging on to ww.creativeisland. com.mt For more info on the venue, visit http://www.nigretnc.com/home.htm maltatoday, SUNDAY, 20 APRIL 2014 35 THIS WEEK Medieval mayhem at the Burlesque Inquisition A new space for music SOFAR Sounds, a global move- ment in alternative music appre- ciation, has made its way to Malta and the first gig will take place on Friday 25 April. Sofar Sounds began when its founders, music fans Rafe Offer and Rocky Start, could no longer stand the incessant chattering by people in the audience in a gig they had done back in 2010. The answer was a friend's living room in Kilburn. Eight people attended the first gig. Word quickly spread however, and Sofar Sounds became a glo- bal phenomenon, with with peo- ple gathering in volunteer's living rooms from London to Paris, from Berlin to Beijing, from San Paulo to Mexico, from Istanbul to New York, and now finally in Malta. Sofar Sounds is all about secrecy, where the audience selected for the gig will know on the night where the gig will be held. However they would not know whose playing until they actually get to the gig. The people invited are also asked to bring a plus one with them and their own refreshments. The initiative offers up and com- ing musicians a place to perform in the company of true music lov- ers. Sofar Sounds does not pay artists to perform, however they are instead given an edited video of their performance. The videos are uploaded according to their genre, on Sofar Sounds channel on Youtube. Artists who have played at So- far Sounds' include Bastille, We Were Evergreen, Wolf Alice, actor Robert Pattinson and many more. Many of the artists, say that per- forming in such intimate environ- ment is its reward. The aim of this gig is to bring artists and music lovers in one in- timate setting, where there would be no late attendees and no people talking over when artists are per- forming. It would solely focus on the music being played by the art- ist, and the music lover enjoying, listening and connecting to the music being played. There are few local venues where artists can promote their music and send out their message but it is hoped that the Maltese audience would respond positively by offer- ing their rooms for a night, wheth- er being a big kitchen, dining room, basement, or living room. The first gig on the 25 April will hopefully be the first of many. The names of the artists playing will remain secret and the location will only be made known on the day of the gig to those who are invited. There will be an entry fee of €5. Those interested in becoming part of the audience or who want to host a gig can email on shawn.james@ sofarsounds.com Pjazza Teatru Rjal unveils springtime programme Ira Losco will be performing at the Pjazza Teatru Rjal on May 30