The Georges Banu Effect: The Critic as Artist and the Artist as Critic
Octavian Saiu
Hong Kong Metropolitan University (Hong Kong)
Abstract
This article is a portrait of, and a tribute to Georges Banu (22 June 1943–21 January 2023), one of the most influential theater critics of our time. It is meant to be a reflection on the uniqueness of Banu’s personality, between Romania and France, between Romanian and French, between criticism and artistry. Focusing on the impact of Banu’s words, it highlights the major traits of his style, which contributed to a different perception of criticism as a profession and as an act of cultural memory. The conclusion is that Banu’s charismatic presence in the theatrical scene of the past decades was as meaningful as his written critical legacy.
Keywords:
Georges Banu, theater, theater criticism, presence, memoryReferences
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Authors
Octavian SaiuHong Kong Metropolitan University Hong Kong
Octavian Saiu - Professor from
He holds a PhD in Theatre Studies from the National University of Theatre and Film (NUTF) in Romania, with a thesis about theatrical space, and another PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Otago in New Zealand, with a thesis about Samuel Beckett and Eugène Ionesco. His Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Modern Literature at the University of Otago was funded by the Royal Society of New Zealand, and he was subsequently awarded his European Habilitation(
He is a PhD Research Professor in the Doctoral School of Sibiu University, and has been Visiting Professor at universities in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Beijing and Lisbon. He was twice a Visiting Fellow at the University of London(SOAS) and he offered Ma
He has been actively involved, as Conference Chair and Invited Speaker, in several major theatre and academic events around the world, including the Theatre Olympics and Edinburgh International Festival, where he was Chair of the Samuel Beckett Conference in 2013. Since 2004 he has been the Chair of the Conferences of Sibiu International Theatre Festival, the largest curated performing arts event in the world. Throughout the years, he has hosted dialogues and conferences with hundreds of renowned theatre artists, from Sasha Waltz, Ohad Naharin, and Akram Khan to Robert Wilson, Robert Lepage, Thomas Ostermeier, and Ivo van Hove.
He has published academic articles in several international journals, as well as fourteen books on theatre. He serves on the editorial boards of various journals and publishing houses. His most recent book publication is Phèdre. D’Euripide à Racine, de Sénèque à Sarah Kane (Bruxell
He received the Critics’ Award in 2010 and the Award of the Union of Theatre Artists (UNITER) in 2013. In 2020, on the National Day of Culture, the President of Romania awarded him the Order of Cultural Merit.
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