The ŻiguŻajg International Arts Festival for Children and Young People returns for its sixth edition, starting on Friday.

Boasting 24 productions staged in 14 venues around the capital city, this year’s programme features a series of world-renowned shows presented in tandem with readaptations of Maltese literature.

Children, young adults and families will enjoy a wide array of multidisciplinary contemporary productions including circus acts, clowning, shadow puppetry, dance, film, theatre and other visual arts.

Three Monks (above) and Ineż kienet Perf(etta) are two of the performances in the ŻiguŻajg festival line-up which starts this Friday.Three Monks (above) and Ineż kienet Perf(etta) are two of the performances in the ŻiguŻajg festival line-up which starts this Friday.

This year’s edition will also be celebrating leading figures who left a huge imprint on children and young people over the past centuries.

Dahl, Prokofiev and Shakespeare are among those whose works will be readapted, in addition to Maltese traditions and folktales which will be presented in a creative and innovative manner.

Among the many performances being staged, this week sees Ineż Kienet Perf(etta) for those aged 13 and over taking place on Saturday at 6.30pm at the theatre at St James Cavalier.

This play is loosely based on and inspired by Anton Manwel Caruana’s novel, Ineż Farruġ. Set against a contemporary background of Maltese young people, the story tries to comprehend who Ineż is in 2016 and whether she is still voiceless like her Caruana counterpart in 1421.

This performance will be repeated on Monday, November 14 and Sunday, November 20, also at 6.30pm.

Also happening over the weekend, Three Monks is a story adapted from a Chinese ancient legend about an old monk and his three students.

One day, in a small temple deep in the mountain, the monk asks his students whether they can still recall the reasons which led them to the temple. “Why?” they ask themselves. Why had they come all the way to the mountain? So they retraced their steps to the beginning, to when they had first arrived. This production, suitable for those aged eight and over, is taking place at City Theatre in Valletta on Saturday, Sunday and Monday at 12.30pm and 6pm.

■ The organisers advise that Ineż kienet Perf(etta) contains strong language not suitable for children under 13. Tickets for all events can be obtained from ticketenginex.kreattivita.org or from the box office at St James Cavalier. For more information on the festival, log on to www.ziguzajg.org or look up the event on Facebook.

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