Petre Liciu

He found the theatre in disarray: the early death of Grigore Manolescu had cast a pall, the public was avoiding shows, the aged leadership was unable to cope.

It was Liciu who, while still studying at the Bucharest Conservatory[2] under Ștefan Vellescu,[3] began to introduce invigorating reforms.

Liciu himself led the way, ranging from farce and vaudeville to drama and tragedy, creating a unique persona for each role.

[2] Liciu's portrayals included Rică Venturiano in Ion Luca Caragiale’s O noapte furtunoasă and the Citizen in his O scrisoare pierdută, Shylock in William Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, Ștefăniță in Viforul by Barbu Ștefănescu Delavrancea, Isidore Lechat in Business is business by Octave Mirbeau, Khlestakov in The Government Inspector by Nikolai Gogol, Tokeramo in Melchior Lengyel’s Typhoon and Zeilig Șor in Manasse by Ronetti Roman.

[2] Also a director and a professor at the Conservatory, he trained a new generation of prominent actors, including Ion Manolescu, Velimir Maximilian, Maria Filotti, Zaharia Bârsan and Marioara Voiculescu.