Teatru Salesjan is not a museum. Time has not stood still within these walls. The music may have changed but young people are still coming to the theatre to dance, sing and act, to write, to paint and to laugh and to form friendships that will last a lifetime.

This old building renews itself for each generation of youngsters who find fascination in its old fly-towers and the narrow corridors under the stage.

Seeing the wonder on the faces of the young people who come along and start to understand how a theatre works is priceless. Teatru Salesjan is a magical place, so quiet and dark when it’s empty yet so alive and humming with activity when we open our doors to an audience and the place starts to fill up.

Through a strategic partnership with Arts Council Malta, we have managed to kick start a long process which will further establish Teatru Salesjan as the go-to venue for community work of quality. Whilst respecting the building’s long heritage, we want to look forward and establish standards that are worthy of a theatre in the 21st century.

We’re working towards developing teams that can help us grow this initiative together, taking community outreach to a new level of engagement. But fancy terms are not enough to get this going. We want to make sure that the building is ready for this wave of love towards the arts.

In 2018 we unveiled a long-term structural plan which would help transform the theatre building into a contemporary, accessible arts centre for the community. Drawn up by Chris Briffa Architects, the plans include a contemporary redesign of structural and aesthetic elements that were added over the years, removal and re-construction of the side annex, and the creation of two new performance spaces.

These plans showcase the original features of this old building in the midst of a sleek contemporary design. Planning is currently underway for the first phase of this project, which will see its first implementation in the summer of 2020. Partial funding has already been secured for the partial renovation of the auditorium through the Theatre Spaces Grant by Teatru Malta and Arts Council Malta.

Whilst preserving the much-loved patina of the old building we are giving the Teatru Salesjan a new lease of life, creating flexible environments that suit the needs of today and answer to the hopes of a new generation.