Eugenio Barba
Encyclopedia
Eugenio Barba is an Italian
author and theatre director based in Denmark
. He is the founder of the Odin Theatre
and the International School of Theatre Anthropology, both located in Holstebro
, Denmark
.
, where his family came from. His family’s socio-economic situation changed significantly when his father, a military officer, was wounded in the Second World War and died soon after.
Upon completing high school at the military academy of Naples
in 1954, he abandoned the idea of following his father into the military. Instead, in 1954, he emigrated to Norway
to work as a welder and a sailor. He also took a degree in French, Norwegian literature and history of religion at Oslo University.
In 1961 he went to Warsaw
in Poland
to study theatre direction at the State Theatre School, but left one year later to join Jerzy Grotowski
, who at that time was the leader of Teatr 13 Rzedow in Opole
. Barba stayed with Grotowski for three years.
In 1963 he traveled to India
where he had his first encounter with Kathakali
, a theatre form which had received little attention in the West up to that time. Barba wrote an essay on Kathakali which was published in Italy, France, the USA and Denmark. His first book, about, Grotowski In search of a Lost Theatre, was published in Italy and Hungary in 1965.
When Barba returned to Oslo in 1964, he wanted to become a professional theatre director, but as he was a foreigner, he was not welcome in the profession. Although, in this period he became a close friend to the Norwegian author and rebel Jens Bjørneboe
with whom he wanted to start the theatre group.
They/Eugenio Barba gathered a group of young people who had not passed their admission test to Oslo’s State Theatre School, and created the Odin Teatret
on 1 October 1964. The group trained and rehearsed in an air raid shelter. Their first production, Ornitofilene, by the Norwegian author Jens Bjørneboe
, was performed in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. They were subsequently invited by the Danish municipality of Holstebro
, a small town in the Northwest, to create a theatre laboratory there. They were offered an old farm and a small sum of money to set them on their feet. Since then Barba and his colleagues have made Holstebro the base for the Odin Teatret.
During the past forty two years Eugenio Barba has directed 65 productions with Odin Teatret and the Theatrum Mundi Ensemble, some of which have required up to two years of preparation. Among the best known are Ferai (1969), Min Fars Hus (My Father’s House) (1972), Brecht’s Ashes (1980), The Gospel According to Oxyrhincus (1985), Talabot (1988), Itsi Bitsi (1991), Kaosmos (1993) and Mythos (1998). Some of the more recent productions are Salt (2002), Great Cities under the Moon (2003), Andersen's Dream (2005), Ur-Hamlet (2006) and Don Giovanni all'Inferno (2006) in collaboration with Ensemble Midtvest.
Since 1974, Eugenio Barba and Odin Teatret have devised their own way of being present in a social context through the practice of theatre "barter", an exchange through performance with a community.
In 1979 Eugenio Barba founded the International School of Theatre Anthropology (ISTA). He is on the advisory boards of scholarly journals such as The Drama Review, Performance Research, New Theatre Quarterly, Teatro e Storia and Teatrología. Among his most recent publications, translated into several different languages, are The Paper Canoe (Routledge
), Theatre: Solitude, Craft, Revolt (Black Mountain Press), Land of Ashes and Diamonds. My Apprenticeship in Poland, followed by 26 letters from Jerzy Grotowski to Eugenio Barba (Black Mountain Press) and, in collaboration with Nicola Savarese, The Secret Art of the Performer and the revised an updated version: A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology (Centre for Performance Research/ Routledge).
(UK) and the "Reconnaissance de Mérite scientifique" from the Université de Montréal
.
He is also a recipient of the Danish Academy Award, Mexican Theatre Critics' prize, Diego Fabbri prize, Pirandello International prize, the Sonning Prize
of the University of Copenhagen
and the Academy of Performing Arts (Hong Kong).
Eugenio Barba was brother to the late Ernesto Barba
, a prominent Italian hotelier.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
author and theatre director based in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. He is the founder of the Odin Theatre
Odin Teatret
Odin Teatret is a theatre troop based in Holstebro, Denmark. It was founded by Italian theatre director Eugenio Barba in 1964. The Odin is also the base for ISTA, the International School of Theatre Anthropology, founded in 1979, also by Barba, and the Centre for Theatre Laboratory Studies ,...
and the International School of Theatre Anthropology, both located in Holstebro
Holstebro
Holstebro Municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 790 km², and has a total population of 57,020 . Its mayor is H. C...
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
Biography
Although Barba was born in Brindisi, he grew up in Gallipoli in the Province of LecceProvince of Lecce
The Province of Lecce is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecce. Totally included in the Salento peninsula, it is the second most populous province in Apulia and the twenty-first most populous in Italy....
, where his family came from. His family’s socio-economic situation changed significantly when his father, a military officer, was wounded in the Second World War and died soon after.
Upon completing high school at the military academy of Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
in 1954, he abandoned the idea of following his father into the military. Instead, in 1954, he emigrated to Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
to work as a welder and a sailor. He also took a degree in French, Norwegian literature and history of religion at Oslo University.
In 1961 he went to Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
to study theatre direction at the State Theatre School, but left one year later to join Jerzy Grotowski
Jerzy Grotowski
Jerzy Grotowski was a Polish theatre director and innovator of experimental theatre, the "theatre laboratory" and "poor theatre" concepts....
, who at that time was the leader of Teatr 13 Rzedow in Opole
Opole
Opole is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River . It has a population of 125,992 and is the capital of the Upper Silesia, Opole Voivodeship and, also the seat of Opole County...
. Barba stayed with Grotowski for three years.
In 1963 he traveled to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
where he had his first encounter with Kathakali
Kathakali
Kathakali is a highly stylized classical Indian dance-drama noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion...
, a theatre form which had received little attention in the West up to that time. Barba wrote an essay on Kathakali which was published in Italy, France, the USA and Denmark. His first book, about, Grotowski In search of a Lost Theatre, was published in Italy and Hungary in 1965.
When Barba returned to Oslo in 1964, he wanted to become a professional theatre director, but as he was a foreigner, he was not welcome in the profession. Although, in this period he became a close friend to the Norwegian author and rebel Jens Bjørneboe
Jens Bjørneboe
Jens Ingvald Bjørneboe was a Norwegian writer whose work spanned a number of literary formats. He was also a painter and a waldorf school teacher. Bjørneboe was a harsh and eloquent critic of Norwegian society and Western civilization on the whole...
with whom he wanted to start the theatre group.
They/Eugenio Barba gathered a group of young people who had not passed their admission test to Oslo’s State Theatre School, and created the Odin Teatret
Odin Teatret
Odin Teatret is a theatre troop based in Holstebro, Denmark. It was founded by Italian theatre director Eugenio Barba in 1964. The Odin is also the base for ISTA, the International School of Theatre Anthropology, founded in 1979, also by Barba, and the Centre for Theatre Laboratory Studies ,...
on 1 October 1964. The group trained and rehearsed in an air raid shelter. Their first production, Ornitofilene, by the Norwegian author Jens Bjørneboe
Jens Bjørneboe
Jens Ingvald Bjørneboe was a Norwegian writer whose work spanned a number of literary formats. He was also a painter and a waldorf school teacher. Bjørneboe was a harsh and eloquent critic of Norwegian society and Western civilization on the whole...
, was performed in Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. They were subsequently invited by the Danish municipality of Holstebro
Holstebro
Holstebro Municipality is a municipality in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 790 km², and has a total population of 57,020 . Its mayor is H. C...
, a small town in the Northwest, to create a theatre laboratory there. They were offered an old farm and a small sum of money to set them on their feet. Since then Barba and his colleagues have made Holstebro the base for the Odin Teatret.
During the past forty two years Eugenio Barba has directed 65 productions with Odin Teatret and the Theatrum Mundi Ensemble, some of which have required up to two years of preparation. Among the best known are Ferai (1969), Min Fars Hus (My Father’s House) (1972), Brecht’s Ashes (1980), The Gospel According to Oxyrhincus (1985), Talabot (1988), Itsi Bitsi (1991), Kaosmos (1993) and Mythos (1998). Some of the more recent productions are Salt (2002), Great Cities under the Moon (2003), Andersen's Dream (2005), Ur-Hamlet (2006) and Don Giovanni all'Inferno (2006) in collaboration with Ensemble Midtvest.
Since 1974, Eugenio Barba and Odin Teatret have devised their own way of being present in a social context through the practice of theatre "barter", an exchange through performance with a community.
In 1979 Eugenio Barba founded the International School of Theatre Anthropology (ISTA). He is on the advisory boards of scholarly journals such as The Drama Review, Performance Research, New Theatre Quarterly, Teatro e Storia and Teatrología. Among his most recent publications, translated into several different languages, are The Paper Canoe (Routledge
Routledge
Routledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
), Theatre: Solitude, Craft, Revolt (Black Mountain Press), Land of Ashes and Diamonds. My Apprenticeship in Poland, followed by 26 letters from Jerzy Grotowski to Eugenio Barba (Black Mountain Press) and, in collaboration with Nicola Savarese, The Secret Art of the Performer and the revised an updated version: A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology (Centre for Performance Research/ Routledge).
Awards and recognition
Eugenio Barba has been awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of Århus, Ayacucho, Bologna, Havana, Warsaw, University of PlymouthUniversity of Plymouth
Plymouth University is the largest university in the South West of England, with over 30,000 students and is 9th largest in the United Kingdom by total number of students . It has almost 3,000 staff...
(UK) and the "Reconnaissance de Mérite scientifique" from the Université de Montréal
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal is a public francophone research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It comprises thirteen faculties, more than sixty departments and two affiliated schools: the École Polytechnique and HEC Montréal...
.
He is also a recipient of the Danish Academy Award, Mexican Theatre Critics' prize, Diego Fabbri prize, Pirandello International prize, the Sonning Prize
Sonning Prize
The Sonning Prize is awarded biennially for outstanding contributions to European culture. A committee headed by the rector of the University of Copenhagen decides among candidates proposed by European universities. The prize amounts to 1 mio DKK . The prize award ceremony is held on April 19 at...
of the University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest and largest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479, it has more than 37,000 students, the majority of whom are female , and more than 7,000 employees. The university has several campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the...
and the Academy of Performing Arts (Hong Kong).
Eugenio Barba was brother to the late Ernesto Barba
Ernesto Barba
Ernesto Barba was an Italian hotelier whose career was split between corporate positions in the international hospitality industry, and the entrepreneural years he spent as a self-employed marketing guru and hotel general-manager-for-hire.He was born in 1935...
, a prominent Italian hotelier.