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Calling all fashionistas: the Designer Sale is back at our Thrift Shop! Pre-loved and new designer items include Ralph Lauren, See by Chloe, LK Bennett, Paul Smith, Tods, Baby Dior and many other luxury goods will be on offer at massively discounted prices.

It’s all for a good cause – all proceeds will go towards running the charity’s animal welfare centre. The one-day only sale takes place on Saturday, from 1pm-5pm, at 6 Busheiri Gardens in Budaiya.

For more details call 1759347 or visit the website at www.bspca.org.

Bahrain Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Some 400 years since his death in 1616 on his 52nd birthday, festivals, exhibitions and performances all around the world in 2016 are celebrating the legacy of William Shakespeare, arguably the finest playwright and poet ever to write in the English language.

The world of The Bard has fascinated Bollywood filmmakers over the ages and has even inspired them to adapt his works, whether it’s an adaptation of Othello to Omkara, or an intense and tragic story Macbeth retold as Maqbool.

Shakepeare’s universal appeal results in different interpretations and adaptation of his works. In Bahrain as part of an English Week of Celebration children attending NMS-DPS recently staged a special assembly themed ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players’.

Hamlet, Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Julius Caesar were portrayed in the splendour of the Elizabethan-era and a humorous sketch showcasing Shakespeare’s entrance into the modern world evoked raucous laughter from the audience.

I would urge your readers to check out Shakespeare: The Indian Icon, ed. Vikram Chopra, New Delhi: The Readers Paradise, 2011. Pp. xxvi + 836. ISBN 978-81-920751-2-9.

The title suits this book which contains a great deal of useful information on Indian responses to Shakespeare: social, cultural and academic. It is a voluminous collection of essays on Shakespearean interpretation, adaptation, appropriation, performances, films, and so on.

Some are born great, others achieve greatness … and Shakespeare is simply the greatest.

Indian expat, Manama.

You are cordially invited to Malja’s second open-concept exhibition, the Malja Call Out II exhibition.

Artists from all over the region applied to have their work showcased at Malja Bahrain in the biggest group exhibition yet.

The exhibition will feature a variety of work from many different artists, each with their own distinctive style.

Malja Call Out II will exhibit paintings, prints, installations and writing by Najla Qamber, Marija Gluscevic, Flora Partner, Taiba Faraj, Alexandra Novik Khamis, Elias Madan, Shikha Varma, Maha Alami, Hayat Abdulsaheb, Mohamed Sammy, Nidhin MC, Butch Paje, Merlin Charls, Afrah AlJadhar, Hajer Ghareeb, Rukaya AlZayani, Tejbir Singh, Mebin Varghese, Ali Haji, Fatima Al Saad, Maryam Abdulla, Meshal Al Obaidallah, Nomana Rajan, Wafa Al Alawi and Ramah Alhusseini, with more artists to be announced.

We will also have local musicians Ebba Ahmed & Majaz give a special performance and a live graffiti collaboration during the launch night.

The exhibition will launch on Saturday at 6pm at the Old Alosra building, behind Amwaj Office, Amwaj Islands, and continue until July 9.

For more info on the event, artists, or curators, head to MaljaBahrain.com and visit Twitter/Instagram: @MaljaBahrain

Curator Ramah Al Husseini and the Malja Bahrain Team.

* Editor’s note: More listings in Leisure Guide