When I first watched Luke Saydon's It-Teatru Tal-Miskin, it was very much a breakthrough for me. I only caught it on its third run at the Bluebox in Msida, after literally months of hearing everyone raving about it. Despite the general enthusiasm I encountered, my expectations weren't particularly high. On the contrary, they were lower than usual. Musical theatre in Maltese was … [Read more...] about It-Teatru Tal-Miskin Publication Review
BOOKS
Filli Ma Tcun Xein, Filli Tithol fl’Esistenza Review
I first discovered Immanuel Mifsud rather late in the day, with his third book L-Istejjer Strambi ta' Sara Sue Sammut, in fact. Immediately upon the first reading - and there were to be many - I was intrigued by what I felt was a novel, unexpected genre for local literature that had only just started to be explored by Mifsud himself and other authors like Guże Stagno and, … [Read more...] about Filli Ma Tcun Xein, Filli Tithol fl’Esistenza Review
Unifaun – Teatru Mod Ieħor Book Review
There was a point in the 90s when I felt that the Maltese theatre scene had become somewhat stagnant. It wasn’t that there weren’t any decent productions being put up, because in truth there were plenty of those. What was lacking was a pushing of boundaries, a willingness to disrupt the status quo of guaranteed bums on seats that came with a certain style of - for want of a … [Read more...] about Unifaun – Teatru Mod Ieħor Book Review
Taħt il-Kappa tax-Xemx Review
Taħt il-Kappa tax-Xemx is one of those books that blew my mind when I first read it some 20 years ago, mainly because it was one of the first locally-written satires that touched me directly, every page provoking a reaction. That reaction, more often than not, involved incredulous admiration for the (metaphorical) balls of the author, Karl Schembri (incidentally the author … [Read more...] about Taħt il-Kappa tax-Xemx Review
The Battle for Sicily’s Soul
I have always been fascinated by the cultural impact that the Italian Mafia has left on this side of the Mediterranean. Maltese culture is so close to that of Sicily, a mere 130km away by air, that we didn't only inherit their yummy kannoli and a penchant for pasta. There's also that small matter of organised crime, systematic corruption and a general feeling that some people … [Read more...] about The Battle for Sicily’s Soul
