Self-penetration. Eugenio Barba / Odin Teatret
By Charlotte Stace
La Virreina presents Self-Penetration, an exhibition focusing on the influential work of Italian playwright Eugenio Barba and his Odin Teatret company. Curated by Roger Bernat, the exhibition offers a retrospective of the company's activities during a key period when they developed radical forms of theatre that challenged traditional structures and significantly influenced cultural movements.
It explores Barba's pioneering approach to collective creation, non-hierarchical organisation, and the investigation of the body's interiority as a site of expression. Through photographs, archival documents and audiovisual materials, it highlights how Odin Teatret's methods broke away from mainstream theatre practices, fostering new ways of thinking about performance, identity and resistance.
The exhibition immerses visitors in the experimental spirit of Barba’s work, offering an in-depth look at his search for authenticity and personal transformation in theatre. It also examines how the company’s practice connected artistic innovation with broader social and political change.