For this year's edition of Żigużajg, Teatru Malta is proud to present a fantastic retro futuristic version of the 20th Century masterpiece, A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.

This star-studded spectacle brings together such big names as Jamie Cardona, Paul Portelli, Stephen Mintoff, Charlotte Stafrace, Monique Dimech Genius, Benjamin Abela, Mikhail Basmadjian, Isabel Warrington and several others who join forces with director Sean Buhagiar to bring to life a story that doesn't shy away from pain, violence, disgust, darkness and linguistic acrobatics. The text has been professionally translated to Maltese by Wayne Flask to keep it's original urgency while making it more directly applicable to the here and now of the Maltese youth.

Alex is a violent teenager who, together with his gang of trouble-makers, commits a series of hate crimes and some unsavoury acts which are quite shocking to say the least. But just how far should we go in terms of education? Should the punishment be as extreme as the crime? How do we deal with such tough skinned delinquents as Alex and his droogs? Can people become like automata, seeming to be as organic as an orange but actually functioning like a clockwork machine controlled by the state?

Stanley Kubrick's movie version of the novel was nominated for many awards and was duly applauded by critics. The Critics Consensus about the movie on the Rotten Tomatoes website is that it is "Disturbing and thought-provoking, A Clockwork Orange is a cold, dystopian nightmare with a very dark sense of humor".  However Burgess himself didn't like it, as he famously left the cinema during the premiere saying that it is "too violent".

Be that as it may, we are excited to be presenting this classic in Maltese and with a brand new soundtrack designed by Mario Sammut. Don't miss your chance to experience an exhilarating take on an already controversial novel which was infamously banned and caused a great deal of discussion. Larinġa Mekkanika - A Clockwork Orange is a Teatru Malta and ZiguZajg festival co-production which runs from November 21 to 24 November at the Valletta Campus Theatre. Visit ziguzajg.org or call 21220255 to book your €5 tickets.