Theatre link for three islands

The European Union, through programmes such as Culture 2000 for 2003, is making it possible for Malta to participate in cultural activities with other countries, enriching our cultural heritage, the Minister for Youth and the Arts, Jesmond Mugliett, said.

Mr Mugliett was speaking at the launch of the 3 Island Project, one of the 90 projects chosen by the EU commission as part of the Culture 2000 programme for 2003.

The project, as its name suggests, involves bringing together drama organisations from three islands - St James Cavalier in Malta, the Cyprus Theatre Organisation in Cyprus and the Kneehigh Theatre Company in Cornwall - to work together on a theatre act in three parts that will be acted out over three years.

The first part of the project, that will be held in Malta in the beginning of October as part of the Birgu Fest, will cost Lm47,000, half of which will be provided by Culture 2000, the minister said.

The project will then continue in Cyprus in May 2004 and the final performance will take place in Cornwall the following year.

"Culture 2000 does not only help by providing us with the necessary money but also helps by diffusing its philosophy based on developing new links between organisations in different countries in order to make the best out of opportunities," Mr Mugliett said.

The story, inspired by a short novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, tells the tale of an old man with enormous wings who suddenly lands in Vittoriosa.

His arrival creates a dilemma since the citizens have to decide whether he is an angel of the devil and figure out what to do. The 3 Island Project is therefore aimed at observing how a community changes with the introduction of a foreign element and pivots around the fact that Malta, Cyprus and Cornwall all enjoy and understand the island mentality that brings with it strong community bonds yet, ironically, their isolation forces them to seek contact and trade with other countries.