What has emerged through this nothingness, is something beautiful.’ We did not know where we were going, and needless to say, not having a delineated map can cause some form of anxiety. I barely briefed Sharon about the artistic concepts of Weil. In terms of the process, Tyrone explains: ‘We started by focusing on nothing – literally nothing. I am privileged to be working with Sharon Bezzina, a person with who I have a long history of artistic collaboration.’ Sharon Bezzina | Photo credit: Nicole Corcoran Although I had read extensively on Simone Weil’s insights on art, and even conducted workshops based on these insights, working with a performer in-depth proved to be a surprising challenge.

Angele Galea supported this project by exploring it from an aesthetic perspective. In a comment about his project, Tyrone said: ‘This project has been a journey of discovery, in more ways than one. The project covers 16 weeks of research and experimentation – on a regular basis – between Tyrone as a director and researcher and performer Sharon Bezzina. Dr Tyrone Grima | Photo credit: Nicole Corcoran

After the initial research phase, which will also include feedback by a select number of academics and practitioners based on a short presentation of the work produced, Tyrone will be producing a research paper. The starting point was neither a text nor a theme, but a process of detachment, leading to the creation of a score. Central to the approach is the notion of ‘nothingness’. This with the aim of discovering a way of putting into practice the theoretical framework of Weil in theatre making. The project translates in a practical and experiential manner the insights of the spirituality and the philosophy of Simone Weil, particularly those on art and theatre, to the performative medium. ‘Simone Weil: Performance as an experience of nothingness’ is a new theatre research project by Dr Tyrone Grima, which explores an approach to theatre-making, inspired by the philosophy and the spirituality of the French mystic, Simone Weil.

Bep by Tyrone Grima