How did your interest in

expressive theatre start?

Adam: From my earliest childhood, I nurtured a passion to dance, a passion which eventually embaced the art of mime, theatre and writing. The great Swedish director, Ingmar Bergman, was an early influence and when I later acted in Sweden in one of his productions, it was a circle completing itself. There was also France’s greatest actor, Jean-Louis Barrault, another early influence. When he, years afterwards, presented me at his own theatre in Paris, it was yet again that same magic and enclosing circle.

Kazimir: It started back in 1979 when I first saw Adam Darius perform his acclaimed solo Death of a Scarecrow. It literally blew my mind and at that moment I decided to pursue a career in physical theatre and dance.

How would you describe your style?

Adam: My style is formulated by the context in which it is seen. So, depending on the item, my style can be derived from ritualistic ancient Greek theatre, Japanese Noh, the Commedia dell’Arte, the circus, or Russian Imperial Ballet. Ultimtately, my style is my own, individual and similar to no one else’s.

Kazimir: As a performer, my style is rather intense and energetic, both in the dramatic and comic items. Those two descriptive words carry over into all areas of my work, both on stage and on television.

What does performing in front of hundreds of people feel like?

Adam: When the conditions are right, a high is achieved, a peak, a connection with many others. To offer solace, understanding and beauty to our fellow humans, to infiltrate the lonely souls of strangers, that is the glory of great theatre that ignites me.

Kazimir: Live performance is always an exhilarating experience and I always endeavour to make it a memorable experience for the audience and also to enjoy it myself.

How do you prepare yourself before each and every performance?

Adam: This is a question I generally avoid, for it places a thought in my path that otherwise doesn’t exist. Before each performance, I am attuned to the utmost degree, filled with a sense of mission that I will tap into my most innermost emotional reservoir in order to engulf the expectant audience. In a state of high alert, my every nerve ending is ready. As for the forseeable future, as long as I can continue to move people to tears and laughter as well as bring chills to their flesh (as noted earlier this year by the critic in Kuala Lumpur), there is no reason for me to sit back and rest on my laurels.

Kazimir: When I go on stage, I have prepared carefully beforehand and on the day of the performance I completely focus all my energy and concentrate on on what lies ahead. The only fear inside me is that I might not reach my own expectations.

You lived in different countries, US, England, Sweden and, more recently, in Finland. Having performed in over 75 countries, has this exposure to different cultures influenced you?

Adam: Absolutely. It influences me, equally, by what I embrace in that culture or, conversely, what I reject for myself, personally. All in all, travelling so far and wide has cultivated an empathy with different histories, and all living creatures, both animal and human. The various languages and customs notwithstanding, all sentient creatures feel, alike, fear, pain, suffering as well as love and loss.

This is not going to be your first time performing in Malta . What do you recollect of that visit way back in 1985?

Adam: I remember most clearly the enthusiasm of that earlier period. I hope this forthcoming visit will reunite me with that earlier generation and as well introduce me to a new generation too young to have seen and studied with us then.

Kazimir: On that first visit to Valletta, I bought a vivid orange shirt which I still have to this day and wear. That shade of orange still fills me with energy so Malta has been a part of my practical life since then.

What do you consider to have been the highlights of your career?

Adam: There have been so many that name only a few is to omit the many. I was indeed honoured to be twice the recipient of the Noor Al Hussein Award in Jordan, an American Television Emmy in America, the Premio Positano Leonide Massine Per L’Arte Della Danze in Italy, among other presentations. But over and above the awards and appreciation of royalty and dignitaries is remembered appreciation of the people. It never ceases to touch me when, after a performance, someone comes backstage to my dressing room who remembers seeing me 35 years ago! And for every person who confirms that his or her life has been touched, there will be countless others whose lives will, unknown to me, have been equally affected.

Kazimir: I’ve been lucky in my career as I have had some fantastic experiences as a performer in nearly 40 different countries. Each one has been a highlight for no two countries duplicate each other. I would like to think that through my work I have become some kind of global citizen.

Are there any students of yours whom you particularly admire and why?

Adam: In the generations of students whom I’ve taught, many have risen to stellar heights in many artistic fields. Nevertheless, in the fullness of time, I certainly do admire those students of mine who have made especially illustrious careers. To name only a few: Hollywood movie star Kate Beckinsale, rock star Kate Bush, eminent British actors Sir Tom Courtenay and Warren Mitchell, director of the Royal Danish Ballet, Frank Andersen, director of the Finnish National Ballet, Dinna Bjorn, and Riad Ismat, Director General of Syrian Radio and Television in Damasus. And last, but certainly not least, is Kazimir Kolesnik whose electrifying power brings to mind Japan’s unparalleled actor, Toshire Mifune, whom we had the pleasure of meeting in Tokyo.

How would you describe

yourself?

Adam: That queston should really be answered by others, since we don’t see ourselves as others do. However, since you want some kind of response, I would say that I approach my life in art with considerably more than commitment. A more appropriate manner of expression would be perhaps that my approach to art is devotional.

Kazimir: I consider myself to be fortunate, for not only is my life filled with work that I fervently believe in, but I also have a family which fills my life with responsiblity and joy.

What are your hobbies/interests besides expressive theatre ?

Adam: I enjoy collecting ethnic masks and jewellery from my travels in the Orient, Middle East and Africa. I also enjoy travelling far and wide since it provides me with stimuli and further expands my horizons. Further to that, I have many absorbing interests such as animal welfare, world events, helping to bridge the divide between disparate cultures, and on a personal level, trying to help uplift those human beings wounded in life’s ongoing battlground.

Kazimir: Scuba diving for which I just qualitied, cycling and reading.

Do you believe that theatre and the arts in general are given enough importance by schools/educators or should we do more to instill a love for the arts in young children?

Adam: Certainly much more familiarity with the arts should be furnished to school children. In our own work, both Kazimir and I spent ten consecutive summers in Scotland’s Shetland Isles, where we formed the Shetland Islands Children’s Theatre. There, the young people were introduced to the multi-cultural world of theatre, mime and dance, as well as learning how to work together with others within a theatrical framework. When the beauty of the arts becomes neglected in training, the arts in later life become irrelevant and thus disposable.

What is your advice to young people wanting to “make it” in the world of theatre?

Adam: If theatre is merely a hobby, then fine. Enjoy it as a pastime. However, to pursue it as a career means, for me, one has to be obsessed. And one should be obsessed for the right reasons. For those who choose theatre as a way of life, it should be because one wants to excavate one’s soul, and the souls of history’s greatest artists in order to share their buried treasure. For those entering the theatre, less than an obsessive attitude will not compensate for the struggles and disappointments that inevitably befall every aspiring artist.

You have travelled and performed in many different countries: do you hold fond memories of any particular place, and why?

Adam: When I appeared in Afghanistan in 1976, it was another world, as if I had travelled to another planet. That was a remarkable experience as was, in a different way, Indonesia, Brazil, Egypt, Swaziland, the former Soviet Union and, earlier this year, New Zealand and Malaysia. However, to name only some is to single out a only a few precious jewels in an overflowing treasure chest. But the question you have asked me demands a more detailed answer, and that is one of the reasons I’ve written ten books! In my new book, A Nomadic Life; adventures of a theatre artist, I specifically address your question in extended book form.

Kazimir, you also compose your own music. Where do you get the inspiration?

Kazimir: I have composed music for several of our theatre pieces. Perhaps the most successful have been Yukio Mishima and Rimbaud and Verlaine, both of them premiered in the UK and seen internationally. The inspiration for those works and others that I’ve done has always come from the emotional premise of each of the works, coupled with the live inspiration which arises from the dancers and actors in rehearsal.

What are your immediate plans after performing in Malta?

Adam: It is my custom that before signing a contract, I do not discuss those projects with anyone; call it what you will, caution or superstition. So suffice it to say that exotic tours are now in the planning stage, in addition to a new full scale production, a new book, further teaching, and further life participation.

Kazimir: As well as continuing world-wide performances with Adam, I’m also completing a new five-part television travel documentary. I am the presenter and it will be broacast on YLE2, Finnish National Television.