Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/992522
11 CULTURE ENVIRONMENT maltatoday | SUNDAY • 10 JUNE 2018 AS spring gives way to summer the relentless sun slowly bakes the countryside into myriad shades of brown and we are hard put to find a patch of green (unless it's a nice carob tree, but even those big green leafy things seem to be going out of fash- ion, from the way they are being chopped down). While much of our flora pack up for the summer and sleep away the broiling months, some intrepid others positively bask in the heat, and complete their act of bravado by bursting into flower. One of these is the silvery ragwort, a shrub that often grows not far from the sea, but then where in Malta is really far from the sea? For most of the year the silvery ragwort (M. kromb il-baħar isfar) keeps a low profile, just a shock of wavy leaves with whitish un- dersides, hence the silvery name. But now it shoots out bunches of flowers of an almost painfully bright lemon yellow, irresistible to any insect buzzing past. First steps taken to cut single-use plastics in Europe THIS week the European Commission has taken a leap for- ward in tackling plastic pollution, with new laws to reduce throwaway single-use plastics. The proposal, which is designed to prevent and reduce the impact of certain plastic products on the environment, and in particular the marine environment, sets a number of dif- ferent policy measures to tackle these problematic single-use products, from bans and reduction efforts, to labelling and ex- tended producer responsibility schemes. Following the public outcry these new laws are addressing the call of citizens. These positives steps will cut pollution and at the same time create job opportunities. Unfortunately though, the legislation fails to set specific EU-wide reduction targets for food containers and beverage cups, at least not be- fore 2027. We believe that it is vital to shorten this time period to three years after transposition rather than six. The European Parliament and the Council of EU ministers will discuss and amend the legislative proposal in the coming months. 613. SILVERY RAGWORT Visit Friends of the Earth's website for more information about our work, as well as for information about how to join us. You can also support us by sending us a donation - www.foemalta.org/donate GREEN IDEA OF THE WEEK 515: Find out more and take our plastic free pledge: www.foemalta.org/vacancies/1803/ Text Victor Falzon Photo Desirée Falzon What attracted you to this pro- duction, and what's your take on how Teatru Malta are planning and staging their new slate of productions? When Adrian Buckle (founder of Unifaun Theatre) and Teatru Malta got in touch with us about this production, what mainly attracted us was the opportunity to collaborate with an independent and seri- ous theatre structure attentive to young and contemporary drama. The proposition to work on Game written by the playwright Brad Birch im- mediately fascinated us due to the very original script and for its main themes – the deep implications of familial herit- age, the topic of corruption and the focus on "the game", both as a concrete and a meta- phorical subject. We were also charmed by the opportunity to work side by side with the author himself, which gave us the possibility of exploring the play along with him. What do you think are some of the most notable elements of Brad Birch's script, and how do you hope to transmit them to the audience? Brad Birch's text has the notable quality of being able to meld together different to- nalities of writing, combining a thrilling genre with a deep analysis of how the subcon- scious works. On one level, Game can be seen as a rather "realistic" text which subtly de- scribes inner and stratified fa- miliar relationships – between fathers and sons, brothers and sister or couples – depicting the way each of these 'players' wields control over the other. Birch's script also investigates the fine line between conniv- ance and reality, between cor- ruption and loyalty. In order to transmit this very stratified and complex text to the audience, we built the play on slightly tilting and stratified actions. The "hyper-realistic" scene contrasts with a sound land- scape that displaces the appar- ent main significance of every single scene, while the inner pauses in the acting suggest a deeper interpretation of the text. A similar function places dramatic weight on the out- side – as an imaginary field of the action and a constant pres- ence in characters' intentions. As well as the "interludes" created by the author, there are moments were the uncon- scious seems to be released. How essential is the experience of football to the overall experi- ence of the production? Do you think that theatre-goers with- out an explicit love of football will have the same experience of the production as those who are keen on the sport? Football is important not on- ly because it is part of a strong national tradition, but also be- cause it is capable of intertwin- ing and connecting people in a collective sport all around the world. Football is treated by Birch in a very simple way, though he also analyses some of its contextual realities – such as corruption and gam- bling. At the same time, football leads to a key argument during a funeral wake in the play; an argument that belies deeper questions haunting the char- acters' lives and encompass- ing issues of power, love, the dilemma between individual choices and the weight of heritage, or the unbearable – though simple – desire to escape from a past that leaves them in a rut. What can you tell us about the play's unique staging (taking place after a football match). How does it enhance the experi- ence? Staging this weird thriller- drama in a football stadium is fascinating and electrifying. The location of the funeral wake – the bistro where the character play – is literally suspended onto the stadium, and in this way the "realistic" location of the play suddenly becomes unreal. The atmos- phere of the football matches that precedes the play – almost the "smell" of them – literally spreads throughout the venue. What do you make of the Mal- tese theatrical scene as a whole? We didn't get to spend all that much time in Malta, truth be told, but already from what we've seen, it appears that the theatrical scene in Malta is quite rich. In the particular context of our collaboration with the Unifaun Theatre, we could remark the particular attention to the "contempo- rary" scene, the courage to invest in new texts and drama- turgy along with the chance to work with an extremely seri- ous team of actors, artists and technicians. Directed by Lisa Ferlazzo Natoli and written by Brad Birch, GAME is a co-produc- tion between Unifaun Theatre and Teatru Malta, and is sup- ported by the Malta Football Association and British Coun- cil Malta. The cast includes: Erica Muscat, Malcolm Galea, Stephen Oliver, Julia Camilleri and Davide Tucci. The show will be staged on June 15, 17, 18, 21, 23, 24 at the National Stadium, Ta' Qali at 22:00. Bookings: http://ticketline.com. mt/ The twists of the game In a process she describes as 'fascinating and electrifying', Italian theatre director Lisa Ferlazzo Natoli speaks to TEODOR RELJIC about spearheading GAME – a Unifaun Malta and Teatru Malta production which will be staged right after the World Cup matches at the National Stadium in Ta' Qali