Patrons of Gwerra, Familti... u Ommi should note that today’s performance will commence at 9.30pm instead of 9pm as originally scheduled. All other performances will commence at 9pm as planned.
A monologue written and performed by Pino Scicluna, Gwerra, Familti... u Ommi “is an anti-military scream” born of the scream of pain which later made the Italians emerging from the ashes of the Second World War enshrine Italy’s rejection of war in Article 11 of its own Constitution.
Italo-Maltese actor and writer Pino Scicluna has had nightmares about war since he was a child. Growing up in Malta in the 1960s, the wars of the time were being played out far away, but the spectres of World War II haunted his childhood through the tales of his parents.
Having dedicated a theatrical event to his Maltese father last year, this year it’s time for his mother’s side of the family, and Scicluna here recounts anecdotes told by his mother’s brother, Capt. Aldo Zanini, who, for the duration of the war, was both family and foe.
This family story wasn’t enough to explain the chaotic moments Italy was passing through between 1943 and 1945, so Scicluna, who acts and performs in this monologue, got other stories from Beppe Fenoglio, Paolo Murialdi, as well as other Italians who had to face difficulties and choices of life or death. These are micro stories; stories of destinies and parallel lives which depict the real tragedy of a nation wrecked by war.
Born in the year 2012, NuoveCosmogonieTeatro is a natural development of an artistic collaboration between Italian actress Katia Capato and Maltese actor Pino Scicluna that started in 2006. The duo has been involved in productions in Malta and Italy with the support of the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts and their respective theatre companies in Italy – LabPerm di Castaldo, ACTI and Scarlattine Teatro.
Gwerra, Familti... u Ommi forms part of the Malta Arts Festival, which, for the past eight years, has brought together a showcase of top quality events, held annually in Malta’s capital Valletta in summer. Listed by the UK Sunday Times Travel section on its Top 10 opera, dance and arts festivals taking place across Europe in 2011, the Malta Arts Festival has achieved international recognition. A member of the European Festivals Association, the Malta Arts Festival will run until 14 July, with a special concert on 8 August, which is held mainly in open-air venues in Malta’s capital Valletta. Featuring a varied programme of theatre, music, dance and visual arts, the festival offers a broad range of genres and artistic forms. The Malta Arts Festival is supported by the Malta Council for Culture and the Arts.
Gwerra, Familti... u Ommi will run on 7 and 8 July at Couvre Porte, Vittoriosa. Shows start at 9pm except on Sunday 7 July, when the show starts at 9.30pm.
Visit www.maltaartsfestival.org for full programme and tickets.