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15 WHAT'S ON maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 21 SEPTEMBER 2016 THIS WEEK MUSIC & NIGHTLIFE SEPTEMBER 23-OCTOBER 3 Girls Like That Masquerade Theatre production of the Evan Placey play about online bullying and slut-shaming among youths, taking place at M Space, Msida at 20:00. Directed by Polly March. The company is made up of Marjann Attard, Elisa Attard Yeon, Marilyn Aquilina, Celine Bartolo, Stephanie Bonnici, Giulia Caligari, Becky Camilleri, Analise Cassar, Maria Cassar, Lara Degabriele, Mattea Gouder, Judy Magri, Michaela Manduca, Emma Micallef, Kelly Peplow, Kimberley Riolo, Stefanie Weenink and Giulia Elena Xuereb. Bookings: www.bluebox. com.mt. SEPTEMBER 24 Malta Soul Club Night of soul music at Beachaven Club, Xemxija at 20:00. Featuring Northern Soul, Motown, Philly, Classic Soul and Funky Soul. Tickets are at €8. SEPTEMBER 24 From Grease to Black Eyed Peas All the most beloved hits from the 70s until now as spun by DJs Alex Grech, Pierre Cordina and Alberto Palmieri. THEATRE OCTOBER 7-9; 21-23 Il-Giddieb Ghomru Qasir/The Lying Kind Bilingual production of Anthony Nielson's play by Unifaun Theatre at Sir Temi Zammit Hall, University of Malta. The Maltese production will feature Chrysander Agius Daniel Chircop, Snits, Michael Tabone, Julie Pomorski, Magda van Kuilenburg and Marylu Coppini and will be staged between October 7 and 9. The English version will feature Edward Mercieca, Alan Paris, Antony Edridge, Magda van Kuilenburg, Polly March, Michaela Fenech and Thomas Camilleri. The play is directed by Chris Gatt. Bookings: www.ticketline.com. mt. EXHIBITIONS STARTING SEPTEMBER 12 Deceit Exhibition by Thomas Scerri at VGB Art Gallery, Valletta. Thomas Scerri was born in 1990, Malta and is currently reading for a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Arts at the University of Malta. He experiments with various media including Portraiture, Photography, Illustration and Graphic Design. Opening Hours: Monday to Friday – 09:00-13:00; 16:00- 19:00 – Saturday: 09:00- 13:00. STARTING SEPTEMBER 16 Original stamp design artworks by Chev. Emvin Cremona Exhibition of stamp designs by Malta's most renowned artist in the genre at the newly- opened Malta Postal Museum at Archbishop Street, Valletta. Opening hours: Monday to Friday 10:00 to 16:00; Saturday 10:00 to 14:00. SEPTEMBER 25 Untitled (Ix-Xemx) Pop-up exhibition by FRAGMENTA at St Thomas Bay, Marsascala from 17:00. Artist Sandra Banthorpe invites visitors to the poetic site-specific installation on the venue. According to calculations, the sun will set at 18:55 on September 25 after a day of 12h 1:35min length. Astronomical Twilight ends at 20:19 but Civil Twilight already at 19:19. FILM SCREENING SEPTEMBER 23 Hieronymus Bosch: Touched by the Devil Documentary about the timeless Dutch painter Hieronymous Bosch, delving into some controversies about the authenticity of certain pieces purporting to be the master's original work. Screened at Spazju Kreattiv (St James Cavalier), Valletta at 20:00. Tickets are at €7. Bookings: http://bit.ly/2cvxkid. Gender equality: the battle is not yet won Ahead of her participation in the Masquerade Malta production of Evan Placey's new play, Girls Like That, actress Stephanie Bonnici speaks to TEODOR RELJIC about how this story of slut-shaming and online bullying will help bring some very relevant issues to the forefront What attracted you to this script in the first place? I think it was probably the way by which the topic of feminism is explored. You can have a play that tells of all of women's struggles in the past and that instructs present generations to appreciate their place in society today. But here you have Evan Placey, who makes us realise that despite all of women's past triumphs, the issue of gender inequality is still present today – and he shows it to us in ways that we would probably least expect him to. How would you describe the pro- cess of working with director Polly March for this play, especially given that it takes its cue from issues that are very current to young people at the moment? Are you drawing from your own life, or at least doing your own research into how to bring out the key con- cerns of the play? Having a female direct this play is great. Having Polly March bring life and energy into a cast of 18 girls is proving to be a challenging yet ex- citing experience. We acknowledge and appreciate Polly's skills and she acknowledges how close we are to the play's topics in real life – and that's proving to be an interesting recipe that I'm hopeful audiences will appreciate the taste of. In rehearsing for this play, there's a lot of truth that you come across. Some of the lines hit home, others challenge your standpoint on the issues, while with a few others you can't help but smile. The fact that the script is a collective narrative means that we have to work as an ensemble – and it's here that all of the different truths that we relate to individually, both as actresses and human beings, come together. On that note: would you say you can relate to some of the themes in the play, and what are the ben- efits of putting these themes up on the stage? Does it help us deal with them, and if so – how? Friendship, sexuality, bullying, gender equality, feminism, and self-image. From the oldest to the youngest in society, we've all en- countered these themes at some point in our lives. Girls Like That acknowledges that and while it gives them a new and more current twist, it often hints to the past, its effects on the present, and possibly even the future. What's great about it, though, is that it's not didac- tic in doing so. At so many points throughout the play, audiences will find themselves laughing, even if sometimes it's just at the irony of the situation. As to whether or not the play helps us deal with these themes, I like to think that every piece of theatre affects audiences in different ways and on different levels. I wouldn't say the play offers a solution, but I do think that it has the potential to create change in the way we think about and view these themes. What can local teens learn from a play like this? My first instinct is to say that the play will remind teens about these themes; but the truth of the matter is that teens are most definitely al- ready aware of what is around them. So the play could help young people realise a whole lot more about their own value, at a stage in their life when they are developing their own thoughts and views on a variety of topics. Additionally, it can also open them up to the relevance that some of these topics have to them – possibly the relevance that is not of- ten presented as such by the many resources that teens have at their fingertips in this day and age. What do you make of the local theatre scene, and what would you change about it? I've read this question so many times and very often the answers involve either of the following: 'it's developing well' or 'we've still got a long way to go' – or else a combi- nation of both. I personally believe that while living on an island like Malta offers many challenges to artists, there's a lot that it offers ar- tistically that is very often not val- ued enough. I'm bidding farewell to my teenage years in October and entering the twenties – what many view as adulthood. What I would like to experience more in our local theatre scene, and what I personally want to work on doing throughout my career is risk-taking and iden- tifying the benefits rather than the disadvantages of our limitations as a nation. "Għax aħna żgħar" needs to become a positive rather than a negative situation. Once we walk across that bridge that's held back so many individuals with great po- tential for decades, there definitely are places for Maltese artists, par- ticularly young artists, to go. Local artists have acknowledged this and it surely ref lects in the quality of work that is being pre- sented nowadays. However, aspir- ing artists still require that sense of encouragement from society and their peers – encouragement that would definitely be a stepping stone forward for them to take the leap into the world of art and theatre. What's next for you? I'm moving into my final year as a Theatre Studies (Hons.) student in October so I can only hope that there's a lot in store for me in this coming year. What I definitely am aspiring towards is the study and further linking of my theoretical studies with my artistic ventures, by means of exploring innovative ways of addressing the 21st century spectator. I'm hoping to continue developing a personal theatre writ- ing project which I have had to put aside for some time, and to work with (and most importantly learn from) other local artists, perform- ers and theatremakers. Girls Like That will be staged at the Blue Box Theatre at M Space, Msida on September 23, 24 and 30 and October 1 and 2 at 20:00. Bookings: www.bluebox.com.mt Stephanie Bonnici