Just a thought; I actually think the term ‘roofless theatre’ to be more descriptive than ‘open-air theatre’ irrespective if it exists or not. The latter is a bit vague and could mean many things including a theatre with a roof and no walls while the former exactly indicates the part of the theatre which is missing. ‘Open-air’ is the correct terminology but ‘roofless’ is more accurate!

checking Daphne’s blog of course. Every hour. Why do you ask?

[Daphne – He has a doctorate in public policy or similar.]

Thank you for your reply.

The main reason why I refer to the theatre as being ‘roofless’ is because that is the issue I have with the design. It is also how it has been referred to in the press and the use of the word makes it clear which theatre is being discussed. I appreciate that the footprint might not be able to take an opera house, but an open-air theatre is not the solution, for reasons outlined above.

[Daphne – The expression is used in the media because it has been fed into the system by a propaganda machine, and not because it is accurate. People who are not easily brainwashed use the proper expression ‘open-air theatre’. The expression ‘roofless theatre’ does not exist in idiomatic English.]

And on the waste issue, both the Manoel and the MCC are used in summer. Not as much as the winter months but they are used. If however, they weren’t being used during summer, both buildings do not occupy a site as important as the ROH and both serve as museums and art centres which carry on all year round.

[Daphne – They are not used in the summer except in truly exceptional circumstances. I find it quite ironic that a group which claims to be championing environmental causes insists on a theatre with a roof, so that it can be used in the summer without fear of fireworks, and without regard to the phenomenal cost of air-conditioning involved in packing several hundred people into a small closed space in June, July, August and September.]

Maybe it will be a Labour indoctrination university, where students learn the Labour version of architecture, medicine, history (with no mention of the independence and the violence of the 1980s), education (in reception classes) and so on.

Some people did say exactly that “Ma’ Vince Farrugia ma tafx fejn int.”

Then there’s that paragon of cutting edge reporting, Malta Today, who produced a front page story linking Chetcuti to former PN minister Michael Falzon, one of their own columnists, and Josie Muscat, a former PN MP.

Did they mention Chetcuti’s connections to Joseph Muscat and the PL, Malta’s government-in-waiting?

Do pigs have wings?

As one of the 128 who signed the petition, I agree with what you wrote regarding large concerts taking place in summer and outdoors. However, accompanying concerts of that scale are enormous sound-systems which do not lend themselves to all types of performances.

If using a roofless theatre in Valletta for, say, an orchestral recital, even people talking on a mobile phone as they walk past the theatre would be enough to interrupt – as a people we tend to be anything but quiet and soft-spoken. I can also imagine that music from nearby cafes and fireworks would also be a distraction.

All the open-air theatres mentioned in the press so far to bolster the ‘for’ arguments are all secluded and do not occupy a position as important as the ROH. When the Regent’s Park theatre is shut for 9 months every year it’s not as much a waste of space as having a dark theatre on Valletta’s main street. I’m sure that the architect will create a work of art out of the theatre that will be beautiful to look at, but having a useless building by city gate for most of the year seems a waste.

[Daphne – Your repeated use of the term ‘roofless theatre’ discredits your arguments, as it does Astrid’s. An open-air theatre is not a roofless theatre, for the simple reason that its design would never have been conceived with a roof. Therefore it cannot be ‘roofless’, in the same way that, say, a glass is not ‘handleless’. Also, I find it interesting that when you mention similar venues elsewhere, they are ‘open-air theatres’ while the one in Valletta is a ‘roofless theatre’. ‘Having a useless building by city gate for most of the year seems a waste’ – have you yet to discover that neither the Mediterranean Conference Centre nor the Manoel Theatre are used during the warm months – and is that a waste?]