Otomar Krejča

Otomar Krejča (23 November 1921 – 6 November 2009) was a Czech theatre director, actor and dissident. He directed 84 productions, of which more than 40 abroad, and became one of the most significant theatre directors in the history of Czech theatre.

Biography

Krejča was born in Skrýšov (today part of Pelhřimov), Czechoslovakia, on 23 November 1921. After graduating from high school in 1939, he began acting in theatre. He worked for several theatre companies and theatres until 1945, including those in Jihlava and Kladno. After the end of World War II, Krejča returned to Kladno and began studying theatre studies at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University (1946–1949). From 1946, he also began appearing in film roles.

From 1951, Krejča was an actor in the National Theatre in Prague. In 1956, he became the director of the drama troupe, and then in 1961–1965, he was both an actor and a theatre director. He left the National Theatre in 1965 and co-founded the Za branou Theatre in Prague, in which he was artistic director (1965–1968) and then director (1968–1971). In the years 1965–1969, Krejča was also the chairman of the Union of Czechoslovak Theatre Artists. The Za branou Theatre was closed by the communist regime in 1972. In 1973–1976, he was a theatre director in S. K. Neumann Theatre in Prague-Libeň.

Otomar Krejča died in Prague on 6 November 2009, at the age of 87. He is buried in Pelhřimov.

Selected filmography As an actor, Krejča appeared in: Old Ironside (1948) Dravci (1948) Distant Journey (1949) The Trap (1950) Jan Hus (1954) Tank Brigade (1955) The Flood (1958) Mezi námi zloději (1963)

Honours Krejča received numerous Czech and foreign awards for his work. Among the foreign awards were the Kainz Medal (Austria, 1969) the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France, 1978), the Pirandello Prize (Italy, 1978) and Stanislavsky Prize (Russia, 1999).

In 1998, he was awarded by the Czech Republic's Medal of Merit (First Class). In 2000, he was awarded by the Thalia Award – Special Award of the Kolegium (for historically significant figures of Czech theatre, other than actors).