The theater critic George Banu died at the age of 79, the director of the “Radu Stanca” National Theater in Sibiu, Constantin Chiriac, announced on Saturday on his Facebook page.
Theater critic, essayist, professor of theater studies, George Banu was born on June 22, 1943, in Bucharest, according to the website of the Romanian Academy and the “Multimedia Dictionary of Romanian Theatre”. He attended high school in Buzău, then studied at the “IL Caragiale” Theater and Cinematographic Art Institute in the Capital, theatrology-filmology section.
In 1973, he defended his doctorate in aesthetics at the University of Bucharest, with the thesis “Modes of theatrical communication in the 20th century”. Then, in France, third-cycle doctorate in 1978 and state doctorate in 1987, at the University of Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III. Between 1969 and 1973, he was an assistant at the Institute of Theatrical and Cinematographic Art in Bucharest, during which time he collaborated with theatrical criticism articles for the magazines “Contemporanul”, “Scânteia tierentului”, “Secolul XX”, “Romania literară”, ” Tribune”, writes Agerpres.
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In 1973 he settled in Paris, where he was an associate assistant (since 1975), an assistant (since 1986), a lecturer and then a full professor (since 1997), to complete the highest university degree, exceptional class professor at the Institute of Theater Studies – Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris III in 2011. He was professor emeritus of the university.
He also had teaching activity – for 20 years – at the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium (1984-2008). He also collaborated with the Universities of Florence, Rome, Prague, Caen, Genoa, Bucharest, Sibiu, San Diego, Columbia University – New York, UQAM – Montreal.
He published works devoted to the theatrical activity of the 20th century and its representative figures: Brook, Kantor, Strehler, Vitez, Grüber, the website https://humanitas.ro/ shows. In 1981, he published the reference volume “Costumul de teatru”, mentions https://nemira.ro/. He also wrote a trilogy about the connections between theater and painting: “Le rideau ou la fęlure du monde” (The curtain or the crack of the world), 1998, “L’Homme de dos” (The back of man), 2000, and “Nocturnes” (Nocturne), 2002. His books have been published by the largest Parisian publishing houses and have been translated into numerous languages.
It was three times laureate for the best theater book in France (1981, 1984, 1990). He also received: the Excellence Award granted by UNITER, 1993; UNESCO Award for the best theater film (with Jacques Renard), “Chekhov, le témoin impartial”, 1997; Bucharest Visual Arts Festival Award, for the film “Les Mémoires du théâtre”, TVR 2000; UNITER special prize, 2001; Prometheus Award for “Opera Omnia” (2007); The special prize of the Craiova “Shakespeare” Festival (2012); the “Gheorghe Crăciun” Prize for “Opera Omnia”, awarded by the Cultural Observatory, 2013. In 2014, George Banu became the first laureate of Romanian origin of the Grand Prix de la Francophonie, awarded annually by the French Academy In 2018, at the 25th edition of the Sibiu Theater Festival (FITS), on its 75th anniversary, it received the Award for an exceptional partnership.
His activity was rewarded with numerous other distinctions: “Les palmes académiques” (France), the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic (2005), the “Mérite National” Order – awarded by the French state (2009), the National Cultural Merit of the Republic of Poland ( 2009), the National Order “Star of Romania” in the rank of Commander (2002), the National Order “Faithful Service” in the rank of Grand Officer, awarded by the Presidency of Romania (2011). Doctor Honoris Causa of several universities in the country and abroad , including that of the National University of Theater and Cinematography “IL Caragiale” from Bucharest (2006).
Founder and artistic director of the Experimental Theater Academy, in the period 1990-2000, he was a member of UNITER, president of the International Association of Theater Critics (1994-2001), honorary member of the Romanian Cultural Foundation (1995), honorary president of the International Association of Theater Critics (since 2001), president of the “Europe for Theater” award. Honorary member of the Romanian Academy (2013).
Editor: Loredana Bancas
