Malta Culture blog

Massimo Farrugia writes about a new culture blog on today's Times:

Culture Vulture. Would you find a better name for an internet blog that wants to fill the void of cultural debate in the mainstream press and make Maltese cultural institutions shudder? Recently set up by a handful of culture maniacs among whom is Toni Attard, a communications and theatre studies graduate now reading for a Masters degree in cultural management, www.maltaculture.blogspot.com is a website where people can post thoughts and opinions about the arts and culture in Malta.

"If the Maltese press is not serving as a serious platform for cultural discussion then this website will try to fill the void. People's comments are vital to challenge current practices and instigate change," Mr Attard told The Times.
The few contributions posted so far deal with issues such as the recent "disappointing" Romeo et Juliette production marked by "misfortunes" such as the sword accident that injured Mercutio during rehearsals and the withdrawal of tenor Joseph Calleja and his Romanian wife Tatiana Lisnic, arguably the show's most important assets. The contributor, Alex Vella Gregory, said the Manoel Theatre should take responsibility for its failure towards public culture and asked, among other pertinent questions, what had happened with the money allocated for costumes and stage design that were never used.

Criticism levelled at the Manoel in another opinion piece included the absence of a "coherent pricing policy which includes concession prices for students, senior citizens, the unemployed and children", in view of the fact that the Manoel is hailed as Malta's "national" theatre. Another contribution dealt with the government's controversial proposal to turn the former Royal Opera House into a Parliament, delving into a "cultural lacuna" wherein public funds are used to finance historical pageants to the detriment of contemporary arts.