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Acclaimed Play About Democracy Staged At Teatru Manoel Studio Theatre

Acclaimed Play About Democracy Staged At Teatru Manoel Studio Theatre
Oct 21 2024 Share

From October 24th to October 27th, Teatru Manoel and TOI TOI Next Gen present ‘Project Dictator, Or: why democracy is overrated and I don’t miss it at all’. A performance that uses clowning to explore themes of democracy, politics, and totalitarianism, devised by the award-winning UK-based company Rhum + Clay.

‘Project Dictator’ is a beautiful and bonkers collaboration between Rhum + Clay and director Hamish MacDougall, in a darkly comic production that uses clowning to explore the rise of populism, the complicity or fight against authoritarianism, and the role of art and entertainment under oppressive regimes.

The performance forms part of ‘TOI TOI’s Next Gen’ program’ a participatory and diverse selection of international fringe theatre productions to be shown in Teatru Manoel’s intimate Studio Theatre.

Rhum + Clay is a UK-based company led by artistic directors Julian Spooner and Matthew Wells and was formed in 2010 at the renowned École Jacques Lecoq. Their work is created through a collaborative devised process, and always with a different creative ensemble.

‘Project Dictator’ is a performance that addresses the delicate topic of totalitarianism, through the whacky genre of clowning. The process began with extensive conversations with artists from Syria, Venezuela, Brazil, Hungary, Thailand, Turkey and Azerbaijan, all of whom had experience of making art under oppressive regimes. These conversations informed the vision and ambition of the piece; to make a production that speaks to the current political climate.

Rhum + Clay and TOI TOI will also present an actors’ clowning workshop with the company’s two co-Artistic Directors, who are experienced teachers and have created bespoke performance, technique and devising workshops for numerous universities and professional training institutions. Participants will learn the clown ‘state’ and even develop their own unique clowning identity.

‘Project Dictator’ runs from the 24th to the 27th October, and has an age rating of 16+. For more information and to book your tickets, visit here or call the Box Office at (+356) 21246389. Information on the Rhum + Clay workshop – which requires booking – can be found here.

#MaltaDaily

The Foster Carer’s Invaluable Role In Traumatised Child’s Life

The Foster Carer’s Invaluable Role In Traumatised Child’s Life
Oct 21 2024 Share

Every child deserves adults who responsibly look after its welfare. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, and many children experience a very negative start in life and can continue to do so throughout their developing years. This could be due to cases of child abuse, neglect, addiction or incarceration. These are issues that negatively affect a child’s life from an earlyage, even when they are still in the womb.

In an endeavour to preserve the family, the Child Protection Services would first try to improve the children’s environment. However, if this is unsuccessful, the children would have to be enrolled into the care system. In this system, children can find foster carers who are willing to love them as if they were their own. During their time with the child, these foster carers do their utmost to provide security and stability until the children can return to their biological family.

It is already hard to be a parent, but being a foster carer is even harder. It requires getting to know and understand the brain of a traumatised child. This includes a thorough understanding of the causes of developmental trauma and how to be a therapeutic parent. This knowledge will help foster carers build a trusting and safe relationship with the children in their care.

A positive relationship is the key to healing traumatised children., Therefore it is a must for foster carers to learn how to build such a relationship with them. Standard parenting styles will not make this difference but understanding therapeutic parenting principles and applying them in practice will. Although therapeutic parenting skills and strategies are beneficial for any child, they are particularly effective with traumatised children.

Learning how to respond rather than react, is perhaps the essence of what it means to be a therapeutic parent. Pausing and trying to understand why your foster son steals food from the fridge at night and hoards it under his mattress, only to find it full of mould a month later, rather than losing it and screaming your head off, will prove more effective in addressing this behaviour, both in the short and long term. If you take a time-out, when your foster daughter is acting out, you would still address the behaviour but without reinforcing her possible history of abandonment.

In addition, foster carers try to give the child stability and security through a daily/weekly routine, so that the child has no insecurities and finds comfort. This would lead to fewer meltdowns and better regulation of the child.

The above examples are just a few of the many therapeutic parenting techniques that foster carers choose to learn and practise with the children in their care. Every day they choose to be there for their children to provide them with the much-needed nurturing experiences that pave the way for their healing.

If you would like to get fully involved in the lives of vulnerable children/teenagers, and require further information, please do not hesitate to contact the Fostering Team on Freephone 1778 or via the Facebook page – Fostering Service Malta.

“Fostering is the most exhausting thing that I ever did but also the most worthwhile” – Sarah Naish (Ex-Foster Parent and Adoptive Parent and founder of the National Association of Therapeutic Parenting, UK).

#MaltaDaily

Arnold Cassola Shares St George’s Bay Sludge

Arnold Cassola Shares St George's Bay Sludge
Oct 21 2024 Share

Taking to social media, independent politician Arnold Cassola shared footage of St George’s Bay as an apparent stream of sludge covers part of the water’s surface.

This comes as other footage showed a similar phenomenon in Sliema, with many reporting a strange fishy odour in the area.

It is unclear what the source is, but many are calling on authorities to check on the health and safety of these beaches around Malta.

What do you make of this?

#MaltaDaily

Taylor Swift This Generation’s Beatlemania, Says Beatles Drummer

Taylor Swift This Generation's Beatlemania, Says Beatles Drummer
Oct 21 2024 Share

In an exclusive interview with American Songwriter, former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr compared Taylor Swift’s impact on modern music to that of the Beatles in the 1960s.

Starr, who first met Swift when she was just 14 at the Grammys, praised her immense cultural influence, dedicated fan base, and musical success.

He likened her widespread popularity to the Beatlemania frenzy, calling her the modern equivalent of the Fab Four. Starr, a longtime fan, had previously mentioned her song “You Belong With Me” as a personal favourite.

Starr’s admiration for Swift echoes sentiments shared by other legendary musicians. His former bandmate Paul McCartney admitted to being inspired by Swift’s connection with her fans for his song “Who Cares.”

Similarly, Billy Joel, after attending a Swift concert in 2023, also compared her cultural influence to Beatlemania. While Swift’s massive success is well-established, the validation from iconic artists like Starr, McCartney, and Joel only solidifies her status as one of the most influential musicians of her generation.

As Starr put it, Swift has managed to create a phenomenon that mirrors the Beatles’ own legendary rise.

#MaltaDaily