Eugenio Barba

Eugenio Barba is an Italian author and stage director based in Denmark. After completing high school at the Nunziatella 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. Eugenio Barba created the Odin Teatret in Oslo 1964. The following year the Danish municipality of Holstebro invited Odin Teatret to create a theatre laboratory there.