The Gozo Creative Theatre Club (G.C.T.C) will be staging the Legends of Gozo as part of this year’s Notte Gozitana (Lejliet Lapsi) activities. The Gozo Creative Theatre Club (G.C.T.C), a volunteer (non-profit) organization that regularly produces theatrical performances in Gozo. Mr George Mizzi, the director of the club, together with a group of actors, have been working on theatrical productions since 2002.

Legends of Gozo will be held on Saturday, the 15th of May 2010 at Narrow Street, Victoria from 8pm until 11pm and there will only be one show. The small square in Narrow Street will be transformed in a live theatre where the actors become part of the legends. The legends will be performed as follows: (1) It-Tfajla Tal-Ggantija (The Girl from Ggantija) – Xaghra (2) Il-Gganta tal-Qala Li Tghix Bil-Ful (The Giant from Qala that lives on broad beans) – Sannat/Qala (3) Is-Saltna Msahhra Ta’ Calypso (The Magic Kingdom of Calypso) – Ramla L-Hamra, (4) Il-Kappella F”Qiegh Il-Bahar (The chapel beneath the sea) – Gharb, (5) Il-Mara l-Bajda Ta’ Ghar Gerduf (The White Woman of Gerduf Cave) – Kercem, (6) Il-Laqgha Li Giebet Is-Sliem (The apparition that brought peace) – Ghajnsielem, (7) Il-Belliegha Tax-Xbejbiet (The sinkhole that claimed seven) – Rabat, (8) Il-Ghalqa Tat-Tuffieh Tad-Demm (The bloody apple field) – Nadur, (9) L-Gholja Tad-Deheb (The gold hill) – Rabat, (10) L-Ilsir ta’ Matia Preti (Matia Preti’s slave) – Is-Suq (The market).

The actors will give life to the characters in the legends with the assistance of tal-Kuklar Folk Group, the Gozitan kid’s choir, accompanied by singers Miriam Christine Borg, Ruth Portelli and the dancer Simon Grech. Written works are by the poet Gorg Pisani, production design is in the hands of Joseph Cauchi, music and lights by Jamie Camilleri and Joe Prego, presentation/narration by Miriam De Bono Curmi and Lelio Spiteri. The artistic direction is in the hands of George Mizzi.

Gozo is an island of poems, ghana, folklore and history. But above all, Gozo is known as an island of legends. The nicest legends in the Maltese islands describe the history of a place, a cave, a hill or a particular church in the island of the three hills. This is what the Gozitan poet George Pisani pronounces in his first book about Gozitian Legends. Just as he declares in the book’s foreword, after he mentions Gozitan legends, he recounts with great sweetness and simplicity tales from people and tries to recreate them in order to bring out their richness, imagination and the poetry within them. And he had succeeded as these legends are fresh, naturally filled with fantasy, spontaneous and sometimes are far from reality. Quoting George Pisani’s words -“Today my wish and the wish of all the scholars of heritage of our race came true as we see these legends collected and printed in one book. This wish is legitimate and patriotic because, as the Maltese proverb says: If you don’t know your country, then what do you know?”

George Pisani not only gave us one book but two, where we can now admire and enjoy Gozitan Legends which will be passed on from generation to generation and thus these legends will remain forever through his written works.

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