Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/691413
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 12 JUNE 2016 33 This Week 'Roots transplanted into new soil' An upcoming interdisciplinary publication, to be launched next Thursday, will aim to deconstruct ingrained stereotypes surrounding the concept of migration THE publication of the book Undertow: Poetics of Displacement will mark the next phase of the Rima project – a Malta Arts Fund and Valletta 2018-supported initia- tive which aims to explore the dynamics of migration. Having already presented a film festival and a theatrical performance, Rima seeks to break out of stereotypical represen- tations of migration, by giving migrants from various global regions the space to tell their own stories in as thorough and genuine a way as possible. As the book's co-writers Elise Billiard and Virginia Monteforte say in their outro of the book: "We wanted to remind ourselves that migrants are not only African people, but any person settling in a new country." The book, which is published by Ede Books and will be launched at Villa Frere, Pieta on 16 June, collates a number of interviews conducted by Billiard and Monteforte, along with selected passages from works by Mal- tese authors and poets which touch upon the dynamics of migration – both directly and indirectly. The result is a book that creates a space in which migration ceases to be merely a sensa- tionalist headline or a burden to be erased or eased into oblivion – and instead, it becomes characterised as an emotionally complex as- pect of human life that may just be more uni- versal than we might think. Running the gamut across Europe, Africa, America and Asia, the diverse roster of in- terviewees forming part of the project also includes a Maltese person who emigrated abroad, and who speaks about how their memory of Malta worked on their con- sciousness while they tried to make a new life abroad. In this way, the book depicts the lived experience of migration as a near- tangible phenomenon, which plays a key part in a person's daily perception, but does not wholly define it. International by definition, the book still takes Malta as its key reference point, and one of its chapters – 'Impressions of Malta' – offers up tellingly different perspectives on the island, depending on the speakers' country of origin: a Bul- garian girl is amused by just how similar Maltese taxis are to their Moroc- can counterparts; a Ni- gerian is warned against entering the 'prison' island by fellow Afri- cans as he approaches by boat; a Greek man finds a common ground between the built land- scape and the "loud" na- ture of Maltese people, and his native country. These initial impres- sions then yield more profound and affecting insights, as the inter- viewees tell varied sto- ries of acceptance and rejection, of tension sometimes – thankfully – giving way to a peace- ful acceptance of the host country. The surrounding chap- ters on either end move away from Malta as a direct ref- erence to fo- cus on what it means to 'recreate' one's homeland abroad, on the dynamics of departure as well as the – some- times awkward and painful – pro- cess of returning to the country of origin… however temporary this stay may be. "Even after decades spent in im- migration, many of us still care for that often invisible and ephemeral umbilical cord connecting us to our place of birth," one interviewee says. "The remains from that umbili- cal cord are now in the fragmented memories of rather sentimental than of ideological significance – the sunlit memories of blossoming buds and of the air filled with the rustle of sticky new leaves, of the spicy smell of spring grass, of the smoky scent of autumn. The memo- ries are now roots transplanted into new soil," she elaborates. Objects are also given their due – as signifiers of the past, as talismans of per- sonal memory. In one chapter, the otherwise mundane ephemera like a belt, a Moleskine notebook and a phone card become cues for profound and sometimes painful recollec- tion – the thing about things being that they can travel with you, and thus become a cru- cial part of the 'migrating' experience. Designed by Zvezdan Reljic and Marta Lombardi, the narratives and essays within the book are bolstered by an intimate selec- tion of photographs and quirky visual col- lages which map out the inner journeys that make up the book. Undertow: Poetics of Displacement will be launched at Villa Frere, Pieta on June 16 at 18:30 (entrance from St Luke's Hospital side). The book will be on sale at the launch, and refreshments will be served. The Rima project is supported by the Malta Arts Fund and the Valletta 2018 Foundation rock… two top musical theatre actresses in Nadia Vella and Rachel Fabri. Beyond this we have TV super- star Taryn Mamo Cefai, Chris Dingli and Colin Fitz of Xfm and Comedy Knights fame plus Lon- don Trained actor Steffan Cher- riet Busuttil rounding out the lead roles, with supporting cast including dance bad boy Warren Bonello and all-rounder Emma- nuel Tabone. In this cast, there are no fewer then eight London-trained ac- tor/singer/dancers who have all worked the professional circuit in the UK – but have come back to Malta to ply their trade for local audiences. Also the show has a special Maltese flavour to it in itself… but we'll let you discover that during the show itself! Could you tell us something about the format of the show? Why did you go for this kind of approach? Well, Rock of Ages is Musical- meets-rock-concert meets hi- larious comedy! As the Time Out New York puts it, "rock and comedy in perfect proportion". It is really the most fun you can have on a night out with your clothes on. Following a storyline set in the infamous – and real, I might add – Burbon Room in LA, it follows the story of a small town girl who comes to fulfill her dreams of being an actress, and a boy from Detroit who wants to be a Rock star, all the while an evil developer wants to drop this establishment to build a luxury apartments (sound familiar?). The show requires an ensemble cast with great dramatic range: having to both sing and act. Did you find the Maltese scene ame- nable for this, and what was your selection process like? One thing that tends to happen is we like to make due with what we find. We don't strive for the best, we work with who shows up. Our vision of how we'd like to see the arts move forward in Malta is not compatible with that. We want to see shows produced here which are world-class and that can only be done by search- ing for the best. In fact we held auditions in Malta and had a casting call in the UK to build the cast we have today. But we were amazed at the local talent who came forward for this show. In some cases we need to speak to some people to come in – mainly because they never would have even thought of doming something like this – but to their surprise they were amaz- ing at it and are loving every mo- ment of it! Beyond this, we had to cast top musicians who not only have to learn how to play the music, but needed to take on the live performances: Marc Galea, Simon Sammut, Simon Fenech, Jonathan Ellul and Renzo Spiteri himself will be rocking audiences inside out! Rock of Ages will debut at City Theatre, Valletta from June 29. Tickets are available from www. ticketline.com.mt 'recreate' one's Photo by Tumer Gencturk; Below: design by Zvezdan Reljic and Marta Lombardi