I refer to the policy by the Times of Malta with regard to theatre, that is to stop reviewing plays that perform for one weekend only.

I would like to start by praising both the daily and Sunday editions of the Times of Malta for their enormous support to the arts.  They help us artists by offering us previews of our productions and reviews when the production spans over more than one weekend. This is greatly appreciated as it helps us communicate with our audiences and make our wares known.

I would like to appeal to the daily to think again about its policy to stop reviewing plays performed only over one weekend. Reviews are important to us artists and help us grade our work and sell it.

Moreover, one must keep in mind that certain venues, like the Manoel Theatre, have adopted a one weekend policy per production. The only exception they are offering is to Staġun Teatru Malti when two weekends for each of the three shows are allowed.

The policy adopted by the daily means that any production at venues like the Manoel will not be reviewed. The situation is the same for large venues like MFCC and the Mediterranean Conference Centre, where the place is so big that usually we can afford only one weekend.

Let us continue working together to promote the arts, especially with Valletta 2018 on our doorstep. I know the newspaper has the arts at heart and has many times bent over backwards to help us artists.

Please, do not take the reviews of one weekend shows away from us.  The Times of Malta is the only paper that offers reviews. If these are taken away, then all our work will be undocumented.