Każin Barokk is a Valletta 2018 project and consists of a hybrid performance where visuals and music intertwine, taking extracts from “Le Jouer” by Francois Renard. It is directed by Elli Papakostantinou, the artistic director of ODC Ensemble in Greece. The name given to this performance is a delightful play on words. Każin being a local bar, but also leads to the word ‘casino’. Barokk refers to the Baroque period in arts and music, from about 1600 to about 1750, marked by elaborate ornamentation and efforts to create dramatic effects, but also to the mish-mash of cultures and identities. The latter is typically what Maltese culture is all about due to its location, history and globalisation. The performance explores if and how Maltese culture is being gambled away. This promises to be a soul-searching journey where art, people, robotics, past, present and future come together to form a ‘Baroque pastiche’ based on local, contemporary identities. The audience will have a visual experience whereby they control the function and appreciate the intricacies of the mechanics of the set. A call was open between August and September 2017 for ‘Performative Machines’, a workshop in which we designed a model, a game; and we invited you to play with us, to tell us how we could integrate different experiences and identities into it. For further information about this workshop, check out our call.