Lorella Fava finds out how ‘Shakespeare is everywhere right now’ with worldwide celebrations, including Malta. The University of Malta is organising a series of events to commemorate the legendary playwright.
T.S. Eliot once wrote: “April is the cruellest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.”
This sense of renewing what had since been forgotten or somewhat neglected of deserving attention is being felt this month, more so than any other year as the world is celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.
People around the world are commemorating the Bard’s legacy. From theatre openings, exhibitions and symposiums, 2016 is the year of Shakespeare. Stratford-upon-Avon will also host the very special Birthday Celebrations weekend and parade on April 23 and 24.
“Shakespeare is everywhere right now, and it’s tremendous to see the way that in 2016 his work is firing the popular imagination all over again,” says the head of the Department of English at the University of Malta, James Corby.
“Shakespeare has never seemed more fresh and vital. What I see is a very strong desire to engage with his work and to reimagine and remediate it in vibrant and relevant ways for a new generation.”
If we worry about his continued relevance we might as well worry about our own
The celebrations are significantly quite vibrant on a national level. University Students of Performing Arts Association (USPA) organised a series of events this week which was dubbed ‘Shakespeare Week’.
Victoria Melita Zammit, international officer, and Giulia Magri, events officer, from the Department of English Students Association explain:
“As an English organisation we felt it was important to celebrate the Bard’s brilliance. Students should enjoy his work outside the classroom and, for the public, it is perhaps important to remember why Shakespeare is still as relevant in our modern-day lives.”
Various events were held during the past week, including a movie night and yesterday’s Pub Quiz at Anvil Pub in St Julian’s where questions about different themes such as music, film, literature and current affairs were posed, with all categories including a question on Shakespeare.
The main event, Bantering with the Bard, is being held tonight at Palazzo De La Salle, Valletta, at 7.30pm, which will include a number of performances, discussions, vignettes and talks. A small reception will be held after.
“The night will definitely be a cultural experience,” the students say.
When asked about what they attempted to achieve through Shakespeare week, Victoria and Giulia explain how, in their opinion, Shakespeare’s plays should not be tediously analysed in a classroom but rather performed.
“In Malta, especially, many people seem to move away or lose interest in Shakespeare due to the fact that schools teach the Bard’s play as if it were a novel. So, what we are really trying to do is portray Shakespeare in a different light.”
Ivan Callus, a lecturer in the Department of English, comments further:
“In the changing ways in which we continue to stage and read his work, what we are really seeing is ourselves and our time reflected back across his lines. If, as one critic famously said: ‘Shakespeare ‘invented the human’, is it any surprise that we remain fascinated by the power of his invention and keep revisiting it? To that extent, if we worry about his continued relevance we might as well worry about our own.”
The Department of English will be hosting a number of other events in commemoration of Shakespeare throughout the year.
In May, with generous support from the British Council, the department will be hosting Michael Dobson, the director of the prestigious ShakespeareInstitute at the University of Birmingham.
He will be giving a public talk at the Valletta Campus on May 17. The department will also be organising several academic events and a musical celebration of Shakespeare’s works, which will take place at San Anton Palace later this year.
“There is truly a lot to look forward to!”
Despite all the events planned, however, Corby insists how “it is important to recognise that beyond all the fun and entertainment of the anniversary celebrations, what Shakespeare – indeed, all great literature – represents is a richly conceived view of life that allows us to step outside of our own lives and imagine other ways of collectively and individually being in the world.”