WHO IS EUGENIO BARBA

Who Is Eugenio Barba is a very detailed documentary about the life of the master Eugenio Barba. It deals with the great director through the lens of his close collaborators, the actors of Odin Teatret, the expositions of academics, and, notably, the testimonies of artists who met him and were influenced by his artistry and craftsmanship. Actors, directors, and theatre theorists demonstrate the man who reconfigured the art of theatre. It is an account of the world-renowned director and theatre theorist Eugenio Barba’s unique approach to theatrical art. In July 2019, Eugenio Barba was conferred an honorary doctorate by the Department of Theatre Studies of the University of Peloponnese. A three-day conference and homage to the prominent theatre practitioner was held concurrently at the European Cultural Centre of Delphi, where theatre academics expounded on the art and technique of Eugenio Barba and the theatre group he created in Denmark, Odin Teatret. At the same time, the entire troupe of Odin Teatret, present on the spot for this grand tribute, staged the ensemble performance Inside the Skeleton of the Whale and the legendary monologic performances Ave Maria with Julia Varley and Judith with Roberta Carreri. Moreover, the actors of Odin Teatret, as well as Eugenio Barba himself, carried out some of the acclaimed workshops of Odin Teatret. The proceedings of these days were filmed by Magdalini Remoundou and became the material for the creation of the documentary Who Is Eugenio Barba, produced by RGB Studios. Here we have a strong work of editing between this footage and videos from Odin’s archive. The director and writer of the film is Magdalini Remoundou, who is also the screenwriter. The rhythm of the editing is very involving and follows the flow of Eugenio Barba’s life. Also, the post-production on the footage is very delicate and respects the authenticity of the repertoire. Through the storytelling, one can really appreciate how the director built the evolution of the language Barba created on stage, and how the company around him grew year after year, show after show. Many of them decided to join Eugenio Barba first because of his way of thinking, and later to become actresses, actors, or musicians. From every interview with his collaborators, one can learn about Barba’s research method and the strong relationship among all of them: a unique example of a good company. Moreover, one can appreciate the greatness of his personality. Eugenio Barba, born in 1936, grew up in Gallipoli and attended classical high school at the military college of Nunziatella in Naples. In 1954, he emigrated to Norway, where he worked in Oslo as a tinsmith and welder and, for two years, as a sailor on a Norwegian freighter. He graduated from the University of Oslo in French and Norwegian literature and the history of religions, while continuing his work as a worker. In 1960, he lived for six months in a kibbutz in Israel. In October 1964, he founded Odin Teatret in Oslo. Two years later, with his theatre, he emigrated to Denmark, to the small town of Holstebro. In more than fifty years of activity, Odin Teatret and Eugenio Barba have become a legend of contemporary theatre: a handful of people who have gained the influence of an independent theatrical tradition. They invented their own way of transmitting experiences, both in practice, with an intense activity of seminars and internships, and by publishing books and filmed documents, thus contributing in an innovative way to the “science of theatre.” In 1979, Eugenio Barba founded ISTA, the International School of Theatre Anthropology, a travelling centre for comparative studies on the principles of the actor’s technique, and gave the name of Theatrical Anthropology to this field of study. In 2002, he founded the Centre for Theatre Laboratory Studies in collaboration with the University of Aarhus. Among the artists who profoundly influenced the history of theatre in the second half of the twentieth century, Eugenio Barba is the only one to have acted in an innovative way in all fields of theatrical culture: artistic creation, theoretical reflection, the transmission of techniques and professional knowledge, work on historical memory, scientific research, and the use of theatre in the social context, as a cross-cultural tool for activating relations between different social and ethnic groups. He has always been able to create great shows with few elements, in which acting, music, and “dance” — these absolutely international languages — are the main characters on stage. The intercultural structure of the company, with actors coming from different countries and with contacts with spectacular genres and traditions from other continents, has had consequences on the autonomous artistic creation of Odin Teatret and on the pedagogical experiences collected in seminars, demonstrations, books, and films. The producer of this documentary is Harris Mavroforakis, and even if it was produced on a low budget, one cannot infer this aspect from the film. This film premiered in Athens, Greece, on September 5, 2020, and won Best Director Documentary in the September Monthly Competition of the Berlin Indie Film Festival. Congratulations to all cast and crew!