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Lino Bugeja is a feature writer for The Sunday Times of Malta focusing on a variety of cultural aspects. Among his more recent contributions is a piece called ‘The relevance of Shakespeare to-day’, and he has an on-going series called ‘Echoes from the Middle Ages.’ Mr Bugeja was a finalist in this year’s Journalism Awards in the General Category with ‘Helen of Troy’ and ‘The treasures of Iraq.’
He was declared winner of the Journalism award in the sports category, also with topics relating to culture such as ‘Sport and the arts’. Mr Bugeja has co-edited a two-volume publication ‘Birgu - a Maltese maritime city,’ followed by the publication of a CD Rom on Birgu.
He was recently commissioned by UNESCO (Malta) to produce a CD Rom on our national Library ‘The Bibliotheca,’ and has also lectured at the university on the cultural aspects of sport; and at the Instute of Tourism Studies on ‘Tourism Culture’. Mr Bugeja has been entrusted with coordinating a Shakespeare Festival over the coming weeks and MaltaToday caught up with him this week (see more details on page 30).
You are organising the first ever Spotlight on Shakespeare Festival in Malta over the coming weeks, what are to be the main highlights?
The main highlights of the ‘Spotlight on Shakespeare’ events this month will be: the performance of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ by a British Company, and the production of ‘King Lear’ by Talenti in an Alfred Palma translation of this highly exacting play.
To coincide with these events the Manoel Theatre Management with the assistance of Mr Tony Cassar Darien, Artistic Director, has asked me to organise other cultural activities connected with the Bard.
The main aim of the festival is to create an awareness of this great world literary figure who has contributed so much to the prestige of the English language and whose plays and characters are still relevant to-day (400 years later) because they explore the workings of the unchanging human heart.
Personally, my love of Shakespeare is a burning passion which I would like to rekindle it in every student. As I had reason to explain, to my generation the English language without Shakespeare is like Hamlet without the Prince. He was part of our phrase-book as quotations came so readily to us: “To be or not to be”; “If music be the food of love… play on Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken and so die.”; “Sweet are the uses
of adversity”; “By yonder blessed moon I swear”; “All the world is a stage”; “Once more into the breach, once more” etc.
The Festival should serve as an occasion to highlight the importance of the English language in Malta which is also entrenched in the Constitution as “an official language”. To us, English is not a “foreign Language” but “a second language” and it is the degree of necessity that distinguishes the meaning.
The Manoel Theatre, true to its mission to promote culture, has embarked on this first-ever Shakespeare Festival as a precursor of other annual festivals focusing on the great literary, musical, artistic figures from all over the world.
There will also be films related to Shakespeare, which ones will be showing?
The Shakespeare Film Festival will be the only activity not to be held at the Manoel theatre. The films will be hosted at the Embassy Cinema in Valletta and start on 17 January with the popular ‘Shakespeare in Love’ followed by Hamlet; Romeo & Juliet (with Olivia Hussey and music by Nino Rota); ‘Henry V’; ‘Twelfth Night’; ‘Midsummer Night's Dream’, ‘As you Like it’, and possibly the new version of ‘The Merchant of Venice’.
Any other activities related to the event?
Of special interest will be ‘Shakespearian Inspirations’ an exhibition of paintings by Maltese artists, inspired by Shakespeare’s quotations. Poezijaplus will be putting in a show and there will also be lectures. Drama will be performed in a number of schools.
Joyce Guillaumier has been entrusted with the musical programme including Shakespeare a la Francaise’ and Shakespeare in song. Other activities include features in school/college magazines such as Saghtar.
Do you expect the event to attract people from abroad?
This year the festival is not intended mainly to attract tourists from the English-speaking world; the time for preparation was much too short... however such festivals will in future be advertised abroad as an attraction highlighting the artistic potential of Malta.
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