The MADC One Act Play Festival is back at the MADC Playhouse in Santa Venera between September 4 and 7 with six short plays and 26 performers.
The plays to be performed on September 4 and 6 are: Trifles by Susan Glaspell, directed by Stefan Galea; The Fourth Wall by Michael Mangion, directed by Daniel Formosa; and The Fat Lady Sings in Little Grimley by David Tristram, directed by Martina Quattromani.
The following plays will be performed on September 5 and 7: The Collection by Harold Pinter, directed by Nikolai Azzopardi; The Candidate by Brent Holland, directed by Elisa Borg; and Dark Road by Laura Lundgren Smith, directed by Zsofia Veronika Kelemen.
The shows on September 7 will be followed by an awards ceremony that will honour the best production, best director, best actor, best actress, most promising actor and most promising actress.
All plays are in English and certified 16+. Tickets from www.madc.com.mt.
The Sacred Dance of Iwami Kagura
The Embassy of Japan in Malta, in collaboration with Hamada City in Shimane Prefecture, Japan, is hosting a special performance of traditional Japanese dance theatre to commemorate the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Malta this year.
Iwami Kagura, originating in the Iwami region in western Shimane Prefecture, depicts legendary stories from ancient Japanese mythology. These are brought to life through intricate costumes, expressive choreography and rhythmic musical accompaniment.
For this special occasion, performers from Hamada City, the birthplace of Iwami Kagura, will present three celebrated stories, including the iconic tale of Orochi − a dramatic battle between a heroic figure and a fearsome eight-headed, eight-tailed serpent.
The event will be held at the Manoel Theatre, Valletta, on September 5 at 7.30pm. Tickets from teatrumanoel.mt.
Performers will bring ancient myths to life, featuring the thrilling battle with Orochi, the legendary eight-headed serpent. Photo: Manoel TheatreDisney’s Dare to Dream Jr
Students of Hoi Polloi Academy’s Play in Production 2025 and Musikidz are staging Disney’s Dare to Dream Jr at the Valletta Campus Theatre on September 6 at 5 and 7.30pm.
The 60-minute musical revue follows an eager group of trainees on their first day at a fictional Walt Disney Imagineering Studio. As they explore the power of dreams to unite and inspire, they journey through songs from Encanto, Frozen II, Coco and The Princess and the Frog, among many others.
The young theatre-makers from Hoi Polloi, aged 12 to 16, are not only performing in the show but also managing every aspect of it, from production to costume design to marketing. They are supported by a team of professional mentors.
The 20-strong show choir Musikidz is under the direction of choir mistress Nathalie Pace.
Tickets from showshappening.com.
Sailors in the City
Udjenza, the creative team behind the Caravaggio Experience, is presenting another Valletta Resounds production, this time bringing back the vibrant spirit of Strait Street after World War II.
In this immersive show, set on Victory Day, barmaid Violetta (Hannah Gatt) and her sailor brother Duminku (Jeremy Grech) bring to life forgotten characters, hidden stories and wartime classics that once echoed through Malta’s most infamous street, such as We’ll Meet Again, Roll Out the Barrel and Lili Marlene.
The show, certified 18+, features a live accordion in the atmospheric Sailor’s Paradise Bar, surrounded by original World War II artefacts.
Sailors in the City is being staged from September 2 until November. Tickets from showshappening.com.
Jeremy Grech and Hannah Gatt in Sailors in the City. Photo: Elisa von BrockdorffMUSIC
Rooftop Series Summer Festival
The Malta Youth Orchestra String Quintet will perform in the next Rooftop Series Summer Festival event at the Catholic Institute in Floriana on September 5 at 8pm.
The programme will start with Mozart and end with Charles Camilleri, featuring numbers by Piazzolla, Barrios Mangoré, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and De Lucía in between.
Under the tutorship of Michael Laus, the ensemble features solo guitarist Karol Aquilina, violinists Teona Debono and Bernard Curmi, violist Mikaela Balyot, cellist Ryan Paul Camilleri, and bassist Joachim Bros Debono Sultana.
Doors open at 7.15pm. Tickets from showshappening.com.
Opera in the Capital
Tenors Alan Sciberras and Cliff Zammit Stevens, and vocalist Nadine Axisa will perform alongside the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra in this year’s edition of Opera in the Capital on September 6. Ryan Paul Abela will conduct the concert.
The event, organised by the Valletta Cultural Agency, will be held in St George’s Square, Valletta, at 9pm.
Tickets from showshappening.com.
The stage is set for Opera in the Capital. Photo: Valletta Cultural AgencyMiscellaneous
Holi Malta
The colourful festival returns to the BMX track, Pembroke, on September 7 at 2pm.
The event, inspired from an Indian festival celebrating freedom, colour and unity, will feature an international line-up of deejays who will play house, electronic and party classics.
These are DJ Sir Prise (Berlin/Germany), Dcano (Colombia/Italy), Florian François (Germany/Malta), Mia Wave (Spain/Malta) and DJ Sammy Savage (Belgium/Malta).
Th event is strictly 17+ and the dress code is white. Tickets from https://holi-malta.com/tickets.
Revellers in a previous edition of Holi Malta. Photo: Facebook/Holi MaltaPride in Gozo
The event’s posterThe Gozo Pride is being celebrated in Victoria on September 6.
Throughout the day, Villa Rundle Gardens in Republic Street will turn into Pride
Village, with artisans, thrift stalls and informative stands by queer NGOs. Entrance is free.
The Pride march will then kick off from in front of Arkadia shopping centre at 6.30pm to slowly head to Independence Square. Among others, there will be performances by drag queens Aqueena and Olivia Lilith. Participation is free.
An after-party at Flamingo Club Gozo will follow.
For all the details, click here.
whatson@timesofmalta.com