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15 Burrowing underground and employing shadow puppets, ZiguZajg will channel children's fears THIS year's edition of ZiguZajg – the festival for children and young people – certainly won't be shying away from childhood fears, with various productions tackling the issue in one way or another. Trevor Zahra himself is once again delving into the theme of childhood vulnerability with Il- Mudlamin, a site-specific, im- mersive theatre piece about un- derground cave people, which serve as the piece's bogeymen. Having written for and about children for a large chunk of his enduring literary career, Zahra is very conscious of this dynamic and its storytelling potential, in part because he remembers his own childhood "with vivid clar- ity". "I had a very happy and colour- ful childhood but I also had my own monster in the cupboard. There's always an autobiograph- ical strand in my stories and children empathise with such situations because childhood is timeless and universal," Zahra says. Speaking of Il-Mudlamin in particular, Zahra said that it taps into "the fascination with the un- known", with the immersive ele- ment – "we're hoping that chil- dren will get the feeling that they have popped into a storybook" – showing that overcoming fear can lead to tolerance. "Il-Mudlamin have always lived underground and through the years have developed their own peculiar culture. "Although at the start they seem to be a bizarre and weird lot, as the story develops, children will realise that we have many things in common. Music, love, and fear are also universal and timeless." Du Theatre's puppet show Fly Flynn will aspire towards a simi- larly direct engagement with its young audience – perhaps more so, given that this story of an in- jured flamingo making his way back to his family was designed to be performed as a bedside the- atre performance in hospitals. "Since we are also targeting children with medical conditions and who are hospitalised, Fly Flynn has been specifically de- vised to be a mobile project. "The show can be easily pre- sented as a one to one show next to a bed and simultaneously per- formed to a larger audience in hospital wards," Du Theatre's Magdalena van Kuilenburg says. Being a shadow puppet per- formance, Du Theatre hope that Fly Flynn's visual economy will help it to put its message across to audiences of all ages. "In the symbolic world of make-believe, social and emo- tional elements are exposed, helping children gain greater understanding of themselves, their peers, and their families. Through the world of play, chil- dren often express thoughts and concerns that might otherwise go undiscovered. Drama, art, music and dance alike, stir curiosity, provoke questions, and develop initiative, persistence and prob- lem solving. Hence, being able to tackle negative feelings and fears, using this alternative means of expression, is highly beneficial," van Kuilenburg adds. The Teatru Manoel Youth The- atre (TMYT) decided to take on a more abstract fear – the fear of losing your memories – in its fairy tale production The Three Sunsets, which uses puppetry and music to tell the story of The Old Man and The Girl, who are charged with safeguarding the world's memories. "During our first brainstorm about the fears children have, I realised how they change as we grow up," TMYT's Nicola Azzo- pardi says. "It was interesting to see that things like completely forgetting your identity and being unable to find a familiar face in a crowd of people you knew seconds before was never something I feared as a child, but as we explore the theme further it's certainly be- come one of my fears," she adds. ZiguZajg will be taking place across various venues in Valletta between November 17 and 23. For more information log on to ziguzajg.org Moira Delia Television presenter "My childhood fears were storms, dark clouds and rough seas. In winter I used to check the skies every morning and if a storm hits us, I would cry and panic wherever I am. At times it was so bad that I had to be either hugging my mum, dad or sister. "In those days I used to imagine that our home will be blown away or hit by lightning or even worse a tsunami. It was very serious for me and no one could explain it, since I was very young. "Although I still fear rough seas and tsunamis, I now look forward to all the bad weather and storms in winter. This is all thanks to my mother, who gets su- per excited once summer is over and winter is with us – in with the quilts, thick thermal socks and soft woo- len carpets – and that is how my mother managed to change my fear into something to look forward to!" Pia Zammit Actress "I had a few childhood fears – the very first bogey-men were wolves. Then, I went to a friend's birthday party and she had a clown as The En- tertainment. The more you stare at a clown's face the scarier it be- comes. It was hypnotic and the feet were wrong and he was falling over everything – that wasn't funny, it was just inept, thought little me. Why were people laughing? Why was everything distorted? Oh dear. "Soon clowns started featuring in my dreams – either chasing me or else their faces swirling round and round like they were in a blender and a bunch of them all talk- ing and shouting at me at once. "As a kid I had many 'rituals'. One day I was convinced that I wasn't allowed to step onto my bedroom floor. So I'd have to get around the bedroom using strategically placed chairs and stools and furniture. This I guess led to the conviction that there was a clown under my bed waiting to grab my legs as I approached. This was be- fore Poltergeist – the producers of which I'm sure had a hidden camera in my brain and stole that fear and then put it on a big screen just in case I had calmed down about it! "In fact I can't say I've overcome it at all. I'm watch- ing the [disturbingly clown-centric] new season of American Horror Story from behind a pillow and a recent episode of Doctor Who had me almost running out of the room (almost! The Doctor will always save me)! I love being scared – I love watching horror films and one day, one day (not yet) I'll even watch Stephen King's 'IT'. I'm now rational about it but I'll still cross the road to avoid a clown – even the bloody idiotic Mc- Donald's one." ZiguZajg explores childhood's dark side Dorothy Bezzina Singer "I was scared of grow- ing older as a child. This was not something that troubled me consist- ently throughout my childhood, but being the happy child I was, sur- rounded by a large, won- derful family, occasional thoughts about growing older made me wonder whether I would eventually lose much of this happiness. "Most probably it all started was when I began to realise I was 'too big' to go on certain rides in the playground – the ones some of my other siblings were still allowed to enjoy, or people's general comments about how big I was growing. "Sharing these thoughts with my family always helped, and realising that age does not define happiness made me think less about it. But I can't say I have totally overcome this fear. Today, even on the internet, there are count- less blogs/posts about 'what to do after you're 25'... 'what you should have done before you were 20', etc, which are almost aimed at making one feel regretful about the life they lived and the choices they made. But rather than living with the thought of having missed out on things I would have liked to do, I try not to miss out on the beauti- ful things that the present offers." Gianluca Bezzina Singer "My childhood fear was losing someone close to me. I remember I used to make sure all doors and windows were locked before I slept at night, and I often used to check on everyone at home while they were asleep to make sure they were breathing. I also used to pray a lot and ask God to keep my family safe. "I don't it was triggered by anything in particular... just the knowledge that no one is invincible. It's very easy for a child to become aware of death – they see dead birds, insects – so it's a part of everyday life. Knowing you might lose someone you love so dearly makes you start questioning it. "But I eventually grew out of it. Most probably because I always felt comfortable talking about it with my family. My faith was also a source of comfort." Photo by Luke Engerer Marie Louise Vella Actress and director of Pastizzi Gourmet "I was scared of growin"My childhood fear is complicated. Every time I had a fever I al- ways had the same recurring nightmare, so I used be terrified of this nightmare and of going to sleep when I had a fever. The dream was an expanding pair of denim trousers exploding in my face with a tiny pin, lots of screaming and shouting and my mum covering my ears. I have no idea where this came from! Eventually I stopped having the dream, however I have nightmares or really confusing dreams almost on a daily basis. The first part of my morning is always spent trying to make out my dreams – I often wake up baffled. You couldn't make them up!" maltatoday, SUNDAY, 2 NOVEMBER 2014