George Ciprian (; born Gheorghe Pană Constantin ; June 7, 1883 – 8 May 1968) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n actor and playwright. His writings make him a precursor of the Theatre of the Absurd.

Biography

Born in

Buzău Buzău (; formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu'') is a city in the historical region of Muntenia, Romania, and the county seat of Buzău County. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Carp ...

to a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

baker's family, he attended primary school in

Glodeanu-Siliștea Glodeanu-Siliștea is a commune located in the southern part of Buzău County, Muntenia, Romania, in the Bărăgan Plain. It is composed of eight villages: Casota, Cârligu Mare, Cârligu Mic, Corbu, Cotorca, Glodeanu-Siliștea, Satu Nou, and Văc� ...

, a commune near Buzău, after which he moved to

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

with his mother. There, he attended

Gheorghe Lazăr High School Gheorghe is a Romanian and Aromanian given name and surname. It is a variant of George, also a name in Romanian but with soft Gs. It may refer to: Given name * Gheorghe Adamescu (1869–1942), Romanian literary historian and bibliographer * Ghe ...

, together with

Vasile Voiculescu Vasile Voiculescu (, 27 November 1884 – 26 April 1963) was a Romanian poet, short-story writer, playwright, and physician who wrote under the literary pseudonym V. Voiculescu. Biography Early life and education Voiculescu was born in Pâr ...

, a future poet born near Buzău, and

Urmuz Urmuz (, pen name of Demetru Dem. Demetrescu-Buzău, also known as Hurmuz or Ciriviș, born Dimitrie Dim. Ionescu-Buzeu; March 17, 1883 – November 23, 1923) was a Romanian writer, lawyer and civil servant, who became a cult hero in Romania's av ...

, an absurdist writer. After graduation, Ciprian went on to study acting at the

Bucharest Conservatory The National University of Music Bucharest (, UNMB) is a university-level school of music located in Bucharest, Romania. Established as a school of music in 1863 and reorganized as an academy in 1931, it has functioned as a public university since ...

, where he was coached by

Constantin Nottara Constantin I. Nottara (June 5, 1859–October 16/17, 1935) was a Romanian stage actor and director. Born in Bucharest into a middle-class family of Byzantine Greek origin, he attended a private school from 1866 to 1870, followed by Saint Sav ...

. His stage debut took place in 1907 at the

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

National Theatre, as Șoltuz in

Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu Bogdan Petriceicu Hasdeu (; 26 February 1838 – ) was a Romanian writer and philologist who pioneered many branches of Romanian philology and history. Life He was born Tadeu Hâjdeu in Cristineștii Hotinului (now Kerstentsi in Chernivtsi ...

's ''

Răzvan și Vidra Răzvan is a Romanian-language male given name. It may refer to: People Arts and sciences Military Politics Sports Association football * Răzvan Andronic — (–) midfielder * Răzvan Avram — (–) footballer * Răzvan ...

''. He would star in many theater performances in theatres throughout Romania, and he would act in several movies. RO BZ county museum 1

Ciprian died in Bucharest. The only theatre in his native city, Buzău, bears his name. The theatre was inaugurated in 1996 with a performance of ''Omul cu mârțoaga''.

Author

His first play, ''Omul cu mârțoaga'' (''The Man and His Old Crock'') had its premiere in 1927, and became very successful. His best known play is ''Capul de rățoi'' (''The Drake's Head''), written in 1938, and acknowledged as an early example of absurdist theatre. This play draws on his adolescence and friendship with

. Late in his life, he authored an autobiography, ''Măscărici și Mâzgălici'' (translatable as "Jester and Scribbler"), which notably contains versions of several texts by Urmuz (as memorized by Ciprian), as well as details on the latter's final years.

Works

* ''Omul cu mârțoaga'' (''The Man and His Old Crock''), 1927 * ''Nae Niculae'', 1928 * ''Capul de rățoi'' (''The Drake's Head''), 1938 * ''Ioachim – prietenul poporului'' (''Ioachim – Friend of the People''), 1947 * ''Un lup mâncat de oaie'' (''A Wolf Eaten by a Sheep''), 1947

External links

Short bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ciprian, George 1883 births 1968 deaths People from Buzău Romanian people of Greek descent Romanian male stage actors Romanian male film actors Theatre of the Absurd Gheorghe Lazăr National College (Bucharest) alumni National University of Music Bucharest alumni 20th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Romanian memoirists Burials at Bellu Cemetery