As part of the Malta Arts Festival, Danish theatre company Odin Teatret will perform their critically-acclaimed piece The Chronic Life. Jo Caruana meets actress and workshop leader, Julia Valery.

Odin Teatret is easily one of Denmark’s most respected theatre companies. Known throughout the artistic world, the team behind it creates pieces that challenge perceptions, cross boundaries and make audiences think.

Theatre is both an artistic and a cultural expression. Our first duty is not to be boring

As part of the upcoming Malta Arts Festival, which starts on July 1, Odin Teatret will host a dramatic performance and a dramaturgy workshop, both of which have proved extremely popular overseas.

“Odin Teatret is all about hard work,” says one of the company’s actresses, Julia Valery, who will be travelling to Malta to perform and give the workshop.

“The company has been in existence since 1964 and has always demanded the best that we, as performers, can offer.”

As she explains, the company’s main commitment is to its performances and to the relationship these establish with its spectators.

“Our first duty is not to be boring. Theatre is both an artistic and a cultural expression; the artistic side concentrates on the quality of the performances, while the cultural one uses theatre to subvert the norm and create unexpected connections and interactions.”

Valery, who is originally from London, joined the troop in 1976, before which she was a member of a political theatre group in Milan, Italy. She came across Odin Teatret while on tour and decided to move to Denmark to study under their guidance for a while.

“I soon realised that ideas and good intentions were not enough to achieve my aims and that I needed to learn what an action was,” said Valery. “My knowledge had to be embodied and become ‘tacit’, communicating through actions rather than words.”

As a result, the actress decided to stay with a company – a decision she’s still pleased she took 36 years on.

Today she is one of the team’s performers and, like the rest of the group, holds other responsibilities. She teaches, directs, gives demonstrations and lectures, handles tours and networks, edits a women’s theatre journal, writes articles and books and organises a regular festival.

Now, Valery is thrilled to be returning to Malta, both to perform and to host a workshop on dramaturgy.

“Odin Teatret has been in contact with Maltese theatre practitioners and scholars for many years, and the group has visited Malta before,” she explains, referring to their performance as part of the Arts Festival in 2007. “For us, it is important to return to places we have already been, and to further establish our relationship with our spectators. It’s a very exciting opportunity.”

Odin Teatret’s latest production, The Chronic Life, is an ensemble performance of 10 actors, directed by the troop’s founder Eugenio Barba. It is dedicated to Anna Politkovskaya and Natalia Estemirova, Russian writers and human right activists who were murdered by anonymous thugs in 2006 and 2009 for their opposition to the Chechen conflict.

“My role in the performance is as a Chechnyan widow called Nikita,” says Valery. “The story follows her as she travels through more than 20 countries, escaping war, deportation and displacement.”

Within the performance, Valery speaks Chechnyan and translates part of the piece to English, Romanian, Basque and Danish. Like all of the company’s productions, it was created through a long process of rehearsals during which the actors and director propose themes, texts and scenes.

“The Chronic Life is a complete experience for those watching, and spectators are placed on two sides of the stage space with the action unfolding before them.

Different scenes take place at the same time, so our aim is not to create the clarity of linear narration, but to transmit a multi-sensory experience.

“From past audiences we know that some view it as a pessimistic picture of contemporary society, while others come out with a feeling of optimistic elation and energy. Some feel moved, while others are indifferent.”

The Chronic Life will be held on July 2 and 3 at the Radisson Hotel Ballroom at 9 p.m. Tickets are available from www.ticketline.com.mt. For more information e-mail marie-louise.vella@maltaculture.com.