Eugenio Barba - Nicola Savarese: The Five Continents of Theatre - Facts and Legends about the Material Culture of the Actor

The ISTA Theatrum Mundi performance of Anastasis (Resurrection) preceded by a book launch for Eugenio Barba - Nicola Savarese's The Five Continents of Theatre - Facts and Legends about the Material Culture of the Actor, with the participation of the author Eugenio Barba. 

Additional participants at the launch include János Regős and Nikolett Pintér-Németh (translators), and Zsolt Antal (Deputy Rector of the University of Theatre and Film Arts, which published the book, and Head of the Antal Németh Institute of Drama Theory).

When I approached Eugenio, who was standing next to their book counter after the performance of Odin Theatre's guest production of The Tree at MITEM VI in April 2019, he picked up a decent-sized volume from the table and proudly handed it to me: "János, this is for you! It's our new book, with over a thousand and five hundred pictures." Not long before, we had submitted the translation of the Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology¹ to the publisher, and I was already holding another work in my hands. I flipped through the volume on the spot, it was full of beautiful photos and illustrations. The Five Continents of Theatre, it said on the cover. "Is this some kind of a travel guide?", I asked. "Yes," was the answer. I had a feeling that I would have something to do with it in the years to come.

As one of its translators, I can heartily recommend that readers, whether lay or professional, accept the guidance of Eugenio Barba and Nicola Savarese on this special theatre tour.

János Regős

¹ E.Barba, N. Savarese: The Secret Art of the Performer – A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology, L’Harmattan/KRE, Budapest 2020.

(27 March 2023)