With Valletta set to be the European City of Culture in 2018, various organizations around the island have started teasing the busy year that they have in store. Teatru Malta, the National Theatre Company, has just kicked everything into overdrive with a long weekend of events and a promo video they released yesterday on World Theatre Day.

The video features quotes from some of the most popular Maltese theatre productions over the centuries, and also beautiful and unconventional performance spaces around Malta; from the immortal megalithic temples to gorgeous Maltese beaches. In one scene, a text from the 1760 Iż-Żwieġ La Maltija was even performed inside a nightclub. 

Teatru Malta’s new brand also heavily features in the video, with the theatre company’s new logo making a debut in the form of a geometric mask worn by an unknown protagonist. “The concept is a contemporary theatrical mask of the iconic Maltese Pharaoh Hound (kelb tal-fenek) breed which is also very well respected internationally,” artistic director Sean Buhagiar explained. The logo was no doubt inspired by Sean’s dog Olive, a lovable Pharaoh Hound that has hundreds of Facebook followers.

“The masks were loved by children, adults and elderly alike, and a DIY mask instruction manual and cutout will be made available for everyone to be able to produce,” Sean went on. 

Over the coming months, Teatru Malta will also be organizing Tour Teatru Tazza Te, a series of tours which promise an exploration of some of the lesser-known theatres around Malta. Running between April and July, these tours were organised with Arts Council Malta and are supported by the Valletta 2018 Foundation. Anyone wishing to attend can check out the full programme here.

Teatru Malta will be soon be producing its first full programme for 2018, but for now, their promo video and extensive plans for the coming months should definitely whet your appetite!

Share this post and let’s show our support for the Maltese culture scene!

READ NEXT: ‘Don’t Hold An Election During Valletta 2018’

David Grech Urpani

Lovin Malta's Head of Content, Dave has been in journalism for the better half of the last decade. Prefers Instagram, but has been known to doomscroll on TikTok. Loves chicken, women's clothes and Kanye West (most of the time).