Malta Arts Festival and Censorship

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It does not augur well for the annual Malta Arts Festival when the Arts Council decides to exclude an installation by artist Raphael Vella from a collective at 68 St Lucy Street.

It is not the first instance that the Maltese islands have been in the news for censorship. This year, the play “Stitching” was banned on moral grounds (Case is pending in court) and, egged on by Gozo Bishop Msgr. Mario Grech, police arrested a group of young men who dressed as Jesus during the Nadur carnival celebrations.

All is not doom and gloom for the 2009 Arts Festival. The Malta Jazz Festival has returned to its original form, taken away from the hands of purely commercial private interests. The annual Jazz Festival will hopefully become a fixed appointment on the calendar of many a true jazz enthusiasts, both local and foreign.
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Children's theatre in Valletta

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Teatru Qroqq will be producing two well loved children's plays in April and May. I shall be writing about them nearer to the time but, for those who want to make sure they book their tickets in time, I thought I'd tell you booking is now open.

My Liza

First thing I do as soon as I know I'm visiting the islands is to contact my sister and plot the visit's cultural programme. We'll look at what's on at the Manoel and the St James Cavalier Centre, which World Cinema film or theatre production to watch. I have no inkling however whether my sister will submit to accompany me and admit to a secret admiration for the stereotypical love of gay men - Liza with a "z". On Minelli's first concert tour in Italy, her production team has included Malta, partly I think due to their mistaken impression that the islands of Malta make part of Italy (Liza's official programme reads "Malta, Italy").

Liza will be performing at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta (literally up the road from Valletta G-House) on 04 November 2008 and tickets can be bought from the MCC.

NOTE: THIS CONCERT WAS FEATURED ON LISA'S WEBSITE BUT SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN CANCELLED. WHEN I LAST LOGGED INTO MS. MINELLI'S WEBSITE I SAW NO MENTION THE CONCERT IN MALTA