Maltese literary mash-up at Pjazza Teatru Rjal

Performed yesterday at Pjazza Teatru Rjal in Valletta as part of the Malta Arts Festival, Kelma Kelma is a collaboration between the popular Facebook community Kelma Kelma and the 18-piece band Big Band Brothers.

Together they presented a series of Maltese prose, poetry and songs to highlight aspects of traditional, local culture in a contemporary approach.

Through Kelma Kelma, the team hoped to create an awareness of Maltese literature, while paying tribute to some of Malta’s distinguished authors.

A predominant feature presented through this project seeks to highlight fictional Maltese characters that became popular over the years, either through song, prose or poetry. These include Kunċett u Marinton, Fra Mudest, Katrina ta’ l-Imdina and L-Għarusa tal-Mosta.

This lively concert captured these characters in their original form, while giving them an appropriate, distinguished and musical representation that seeks their revival through this holistic performance.

Running from 14 July to 2 August, artists from Croatia, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, South Africa and Russia will join some of the best Maltese artists in a festival with 18 performances and a separate programme of workshops and master classes. Most of these events will be held in some of the island’s most prestigious historical venues, such as the Mediterranean Conference Centre, Pjazza Teatru Rjal and the newly-restored Fort St Elmo.