Omma theatre group was founded in 1991 in Athens. In 1996, it changed into “Omma Studio”. Omma, in the ancient Greek language, means eye as well as glance. The selection of this name is harmonious with the choice of the theatrical direction, that of the experimental theatre where research work is the primary element and demands as a prerequisite and as a result a new point of view, a new glance. The work of our group proposes new theatrical codes to the spectators. So it is searching and testing the acceptable principles of theatre. What is theatre? What does it mean for an actor to “play”? How does Space and Time influence the function of the performance? We name the way we do theatre SpaceTheatre, because we are trying to “change” with our presence, space and time. We try to achieve this, applying specific principles, based on physical actions. We usually perform in non-theatrical spaces, in old storehouses, abandoned buildings, old schools, in Greece and abroad. Since 1993, we make also street performances, because we are interested in how our technique can function in a“casual” space, like the street, where the conditions for a performance cannot be controlled.

Omma’s way of work, originally inspired and influenced by Jerzy Grotowski’s Laboratorium and fundamentally by Eugenio Barba’s Odin Teatret, now follows its own paths and inquiries.
The work is based on improvisation as well as the continual exercise and training of the actors’ expressional resourses. Exploring how the theatre can operate in today’s world, what theatre means, what it can mean for a person to be a performer. Each performance begins from its final point, where nothing existed originally. There is no text, no preordained form. There is only the need to unrole the yarn to let your own self, your body itself to tell the story.