Maltese drama in Latvia

A group of students from the Malta Drama Centre led by Mario Azzoppardi will be performing in Latvia as part of an EU financed Community Theatre programme. From The Independent:

The project was launched at the Malta Drama Centre last November, when participants from the respective countries met to explore how to create and present theatre that promotes active audience response and participation. Partners from Austria, Finland, Italy, Greece and Latvia are currently researching how knowledge about political systems, the media, social rituals, gender issues and leisure could contribute towards the creation of community drama in a “destination” country.

The group of student-performers, accompanied by Mario Azzopardi, principal at the Malta Drama Centre, will be working with their Latvian theatre counterparts in Akniste, which promotes regional Community Theatre through its resident group of actors attached to the municipality. Each country taking part in the project will suggest a relevant issue to be explored and concretised in dramatic form by the visiting troupe. All countries will then present their performances in a joint festival next year, to be held in Vienna.

In the case of Latvia, the Maltese actors have been asked to research the phenomenon of gender imbalance, where women are emerging as the stronger sex when it comes to the assumption of domestic and social responsibility. According to Mario Azzopardi, the Malta Drama Centre is a key protagonist in similar projects. When it comes to researching, devising and presenting issue-based theatre, “the effectiveness of theatre work in a social context is being highlighted in many countries and Malta is often taking a leading role in this respect”, explains Mr Azzopardi..

Meanwhile, a group of six theatre researchers from Austria left Malta earlier this week. They spent time looking into issues such as illegal immigration, minority groups, hunting and trapping as well young people’s views on religion. The group, led by Ingrid Wagenhofen, will also transform the Maltese experience into “active, social drama”.