Biography

Octavian Saiu

Researcher

Octavian Saiu, photo from private archive

photo from private archive

Octavian Saiu has taught theatre and dramatic literature as Associate Professor at the National University of Theatre and Film (NUTF) in Bucharest and as Guest Lecturer at the University of Otago, New Zealand. He was Visiting Fellow at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, and Visiting Professor at universities in Tokyo and Lisbon. He holds a PhD in Theatre Studies from NUTF and one in Comparative Literature from the University of Otago. Octavian Saiu has been actively involved in several worldwide theatre events and academic conferences in North America, Australasia and Europe, including the Edinburgh International Festival, where he was Chair of the Samuel Beckett Conference in 2013. Since 2004 he has been Chair of the Conferences of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival. He is Adjunct Secretary General of the International Association of Theatre Critics (IATC) and President of the Romanian Section (Theatre Studies) of IATC. He has published articles in several international journals, as well as eight books on theatre. He received the Critics’ Award in 2010 and the Award of the Union of Theatre Artists (UNITER) in 2013. His most recent publication in English is the monograph Hamlet and the Madness of the World (2016).