Pause and Play came about because – instead of producing a traditional final-year thesis – Angelique Attard, Brendon Thearle and Monique Falzon were instead tasked with creating a theatre festival. Their aim is to celebrate the performing arts by showcasing young, up-and-coming artists and providing them with a platform.
“At the same time, we wanted to encourage visitors to take a moment to relax and enjoy the unique beauty that the performing arts offer,” they explain. “In our increasingly busy world, we rarely take the time to pause, relax, and reflect on what’s happening around us. With this festival, we want visitors to do exactly that – to step away from the outside world, immerse themselves in the experience within the festival’s walls, and reflect on what they’re witnessing and feeling.”
The innovative and intriguing events range widely from No Name. No Past – a choreographed dance in which three strangers jolt awake in a cold, unfamiliar room without names or memories, no clue how they got there – to I Promised I’d Tell You a Story but I’d Rather Play the Fool. This is a hybrid performance-workshop by Alex Weenink, an interactive ‘experiment’ exploring anxiety, playfulness, and storytelling. Through a combination of spoken word and collective creative activities, Alex will guide audience-participants through a personal journey of creativity and authenticity. It is an invitation to you to gather in the circle, to share stories, and play the fool!
Other performances include The Language of the Deaf, by D Shows, which questions conventional paradigms and explores topics of greed and unspoken taboos in society, the gravity of silence and a fear of words. The show asks how can we challenge societal cliches and shed light onto subconscious patterns? This is the first in a two-part event, the second of which, Hooray, Our World is Ending is set in a bar and dives into the sentiment of being paralyzed by frustration.
“My mind is in: Palestine, Congo, Ethiopia, Sudan. It’s on one of the boats that might arrive at our shores tomorrow. Or yesterday? and I haven’t even kept up with the news to carry this knowledge like a burden.”
But how can we do something about it?
Other events at the festival
There’s lots to choose from, more including the event The Pigs in a Parlour, a ‘Practice Research’ performance which will take place in an installation-type setting involving chairs and lanes, and 90 SEKONDA. The latter follows a nameless protagonist-narrator who sets off on a hedonistic mission of self-destruction in the wake of his eco-extremist brother Luca’s sudden passing. The circumstances surrounding Luca’s death – paired with the discovery of his extreme beliefs – force the protagonist to come to terms with the hypocrisy of his actions as a corporate slave, and subsequently challenge the status quo. It’s a nuanced critique of the ongoing climate crisis, exploring the futility of our own actions in light of corporate greed.
Festival visitors can also enjoy several art exhibitions including Pause and Reflect; Baħar, an intimate view of Malta’s sea and refracted light; and Moments Between which offers glimpses into the lives of strangers we encounter in our daily lives. Each of these small windows reveals experiences as rich and complex as our own. Like the act of people-watching, these moments invite you to notice the subtle choreography of everyday life, fostering empathy and understanding. Inspired by ‘sonder’—the humbling awareness that you are not the centre of the universe, and that every person around you has their own web of experiences, emotions, and relationships just as intricate as yours—this series encourages you to pause, observe, and find beauty in the unnoticed.
The organisers are also keen to understand how attendees respond to what they see, in a non-traditional way. “To do this, we’re using a digital platform to collect anonymous reflections, which will be displayed live in a space we’re calling The Empty Room,” they explain. “This room is open to everyone – artists and visitors alike – as a place to read others’ thoughts and potentially spark conversations about the work. We’re not looking for formal reviews. Instead, we want to give people the freedom to express whatever they feel in response to the art, openly, honestly, and without judgment.”
“At Pause & Play, we believe art fosters deeper connections when people to slow down, share a space, and engage with experiences that evoke emotion and thought. The festival creates a common ground where both artists and visitors can connect – not just through performance, but through reflection and conversation. By showcasing emerging voices and encouraging honest, personal responses in spaces like The Empty Room, we’re building a sense of community rooted in empathy, curiosity, and mutual understanding. In this way, the festival becomes more than just a series of performances and artworks, it becomes a space for connection, dialogue, and collective reflection.”
The Pause and Play festival will unfold across three venues, with the University of Malta’s Valletta Campus serving as the main hub.
Additional events will take place at Wild Honey Beer House & Bistro and MaeWest, both within walking distance of the main venue.
Entry to all events is free of charge, and further details can be found on the festival’s official website.
Pause & Play is supported by the Department of Theatre Studies within the University of Malta’s School of Performing Arts.