Eugenio Barba
Eugenio Barba is one of the protagonists in the history of theatre of the second half of the twentieth century. His activity, which has been an international point of reference for over half a century, has spanned many fields: the artistic creation of performances, theoretical reflection, pedagogy and the transmission of experience, the preservation of historical memory, the scientific study of the actor/dancer’s technique, the use of theatre “outside the theatre” in social and crosscultural contexts throughout the world with the aim of activating relationships between different
cultures and ethnic groups.
Eugenio Barba was born in Puglia (Italy), grew up in the village of Gallipoli and completed his high school education at the Nunziatella Military School in Naples. In 1954, he emigrated to Norway where he worked as a tinsmith and a welder and then, for two years, as a sailor on a Norwegian freighter. Meanwhile, he studied at Oslo University where he graduated in French and Norwegian literature and history of religions.
In 1961, he received a scholarship to follow the course in directing at the State Theatre School in Warsaw, Poland. He interrupted his studies after a year to join a small provincial experimental theatre in Opole directed by the young, and at that time unknown director, Jerzy Grotowski and the critic Ludwik Flaszen. He remained there until May 1964, alternating the work as assistant director with travels throughout Europe to promote the activity of Grotowski who, in 1965, was the subject of his first book In Search of a Lost Theatre. During thisperiod he stayed five months in India where he became acquainted withkathakali, a traditional dance theatre almost unknown in the West,writing a longer essay about it.READ MORE
