Since 1962, World Theatre Day, set by the International Theatre Institute, has been celebrated by theatre professionals, theatre organisations, theatre universities and theatre lovers all over the world on March 27.

This year, Malta is also joining the global celebrations under the banner of Viva t-Teatru, with a programme of events by Teatru Malta and Arts Council Malta.

After yesterday’s launch of Spazji Teatrali, a catalogue of 78 theatre spaces, as part of a study commissioned by Arts Council Malta, the programme of events continues with a two-day informal forum on current issues in Maltese theatre, entitled Taħdita Teatru. This will take the form of informal discussions, held in various theatre spaces in Malta and Gozo as part of a bus trip, with these discussions actually continuing on the bus ride between the various venues, and the ferry ride when travelling to Gozo.

Taħdita Teatru will begin today at the Valletta Campus Theatre (formerly known as MITP) with a discussion on whether theatre can be both experimental and popular. The final session will be held on the way back from Gozo tomorrow.

The discussions will be moderated by various theatre practitioners coming from different schools of theatre, such as Nicole Bugeja, Chris Dingli, Joseph Zammit and Philip Leone Ganado. Various spaces will be used in each of the five regions of Malta and Gozo, such as the Domus in Żejtun, Mount Carmel Community Theatre and Sala Dun Karm Lia in Rabat.

Also part of the programme is Manoel, Iftaħli, a series of free one-hour tours of the Manoel Theatre led by Malcolm Galea and Narcy Calamatta tomorrow, as well as two free Toi Toi shows for children attending schools in Valletta.  A special tour for the Valletta elderly will be organised on Monday. These tours are being organised in collaboration with Manoel Theatre.

■ The full programme and more information on each event are available on www.artscouncilmalta.org. Participation is free of charge. Registration for the Manoel Theatre tours, bus rides and lunches is on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, send an e-mail to fundinfo@artscouncilmalta.org or call on 2339 7020. To book for the Manoel Theatre tours, send an e-mail on bookings@teatrumanoel.com or call on 2146 3389.

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