Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/702141
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 10 JULY 2016 33 This Week A murder. A gruesome murder; the killers are nameless, the crime a mystery. An investigation. A thor- ough investigation; the investigator is tenacious, his manner ruthless. They are the key elements for any gripping detective story, and yet, in Malta thrillers of this sort are not very common. Save for some old 1950s, out of print detective thrill- ers, the Maltese market was very wanting of the genre. Until, that is, author Mark Camill- eri came along with his fictitious Inspector Victor Gallo. Camilleri, a young contemporary writer from Mosta, first introduced us to Gallo in Prima Facie, published in 2010. The book's success was mirrored in a television series which aired to high ratings, for a whole season on One TV. Gallo's vocation for unearthing the truth continued in Camilleri's 2013 book, Volens. Nex, recently pub- lished by Merlin Publishers is the third installment in the Gallo series. It opens with a summer scene set in Valletta. It's 2003 and prepara- tions are underway for the EU ac- cession referendum, when suddenly a popular journalist vanishes in thin air and is never seen again. Fast forward twelve years later to 2015, and Camilleri takes us through a brutal homicide and a rather macabre discovery – which brings to the spotlight the case of the journalist once more. Inspector Victor Gallo, Head of the Anti-Homicide section, finds himself in the midst of a whirlwind of violent acts, sifting through a lab- yrinth of at times contradictory evi- dence, witnesses and murky memo- ries. Gallo wants to get to the truth – but not everyone is keen on that. As the book unfolds the reader real- izes how the facts are far more ter- rifying than Gallo and his colleagues can ever imagine. One of the appealing character- istics of Camilleri's book is their firm geographical entrenchment: the characters meander through towns and villages in Malta, through streets and roads that readers im- mediately identify with, and stop- ping at popular drinking holes, bars and restaurants; making the read a more authentic one. Nex is available for sale from all bookshops or directly online from www.merlinpublishers.com Tel: 2124 4473 www.maltaorchestra.com 'Life, of course, is a big subject…' TEODOR RELJIC speaks to William Trevitt and Michael Nunn – the duo behind Ballet Boyz, an eclectic British dance company founded on a philosophy of accepting and nurturing dancers from all social strata. Under the umbrella project 'TALENT', they will be performing their show 'Life' at this year's edition of the Malta International Arts Festival What would you say was the main impetus behind setting up TALENT, and how has it evolved over the years? The main impetus for setting up the Talent for us was to pass on the knowledge and repertoire we had acquired during our own careers, as dancers. The company has quickly evolved of the last few years, its popularity has grown enormously, and choreographers are very keen to work with the company, the Talent are a very inspiring group of men, with a unique bond which appeals to a wide audience. Was it important to you to have dancers from different backgrounds on board? What were some of the main challeng- es in this regard, when you were first starting out? When we started the Talent we invited any man who wanted to dance for us to attend an open au- dition, we did not look at CVs, we based our decision purely on the audition day – on who performed best and caught our eye. This obviously has its chal- lenges, when dancers are trained in different ways it takes a while to develop a company style and uniformity, but we feel our com- pany is richer for it. The dancers are able to transfer their individ- ual skills and share them with the group. What can you tell us about the 'Life' show, and how does it de- fine the work of the BalletBoyz so far? Life is a show of two halves, both choreographers, Javier and Pon- tus, were given the same starting brief – the word 'life'. This show really examines the dancers' abili- ties, not only as dancers but also as actors and performers. We feel this performance truly reflects where the company is at the mo- ment, and that's very exciting for us to see as directors. Life, of course, is a big subject, and it is fascinating to see how each cho- reographer has expressed their feelings on the subject through their very different approaches to choreography. You've performed in various countries over the years. Do you find that the language of dance travels easily from one country to another, and are you looking forward to performing in Malta? Of course, dance can be under- stood and enjoyed anywhere in the world. It's a universal language we all speak. Different countries have different challenges and also expectations of us, which is always fascinating to experience. No two audiences are ever the same. This will be our first, but hope- fully not our last, visit to Malta and we are very much looking forward to it. The dancers are very excited to perform there. It's also the last performances of our season, so many of them have planned to stay for a while and en- joy a well-earned holiday. Ballet Boyz will be performing 'Life' at Pjazza Teatru Rjal, Val- letta on July 15 at 21:00 as part of the Malta Arts Festival. For more information and bookings, log on to: http://maltaartsfestival.org/ event/ballet-boyz/ Ballet Boyz will be performing 'Life' at the Pjazza Teatru Rjal Third time lucky for Victor Gallo? Mark Camilleri's inspector returns in a third instalment – Nex