de Uniter Sunday September 14th, 2008
In Memoriam ŞTEFAN IORDACHE
I am aware that us, actors
Have to pay for this continuous game
Of life and death.”
said Ştefan Iordache in his poem “Playing with Art”, knowing that he loved art and life passionately, understanding their tumult until nothing was left undiscovered, until the truth was revealed in its ultimate simplicity.
For the great Ştefan Iordache was searching for simplicity and he felt at ease at Gruiu, where he found the environment he needed.
His search was feverish, often resulting in his being silent and taciturn, but whirlwinds of anxieties were seething beyond the silence, giving shape to his multiple parts.
Minutiously created, with a lot of attention and extreme throughness, his parts are memorable, just like Ştefan Iordache will remain as a reference point, since his name is part of our collective memory.
Born in Calafat, Ştefan Iordache graduated from the “I.L. Caragiale” Institute for Theatrical and Cinematic Arts in 1963, with the part of Arturo Ui in the show “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui” by Bertolt Brecht.
Following a one-year stay at the Municipal Theatre in Constanţa, Ştefan Iordache joins the actors at “C.I. Nottara” Theatre in Bucharest, where he gains acknowledgment with memorable parts: Nolli in “Henry IV” by Luigi Pirandello, Rică Venturiano in “One Stormy Night” by I.L. Caragiale, The actor and the king in “Flemish Visions” by Michel de Ghelderode, Hamlet in “Hamlet” by W. Shakespeare.
Starting with 1977 he’s an actor of the Small Theatre (Teatrul Mic) in Bucharest and he continues the series of reference shows and parts: AA in “Les Emigres” by Slawomir Mrozek, The Master and Jeshua Ha-Nozrî in “The Master and Margarita” by Mihail Bulgakov, Richard of Gloucester in “Richard II” by W. Shakespeare, Humbert Humbert in “Lolita”.
He also played for “L. S. Bulandra” Theatre in Bucharest, the Odeon Theatre, the Comedy Theatre, the National Theatre in Craiova, the National Theatre for the Radio, “I.L. Caragiale” National Theatre in Bucharest, the Odeon Theatre in Paris.
His last part was Prince Potemkin in the show “Catherine the Great” staged at the National Theatre in Bucharest, a show included in the repertoire for the 2008/2009 theatrical season.
Ştefan Iordache was equal in his tumult, but he was never the same in his parts. Maybe this is why he managed to cover such a wide spectrum, ranging from comedy to tragedy, from theatre to music and film.
He received the UNITER award for Best Actor for the part in the show “Barrymore”, a production of the National Theatre in Bucharest, as well as the Award for his entire career and activity.
The show “Titus Andronicus”, in which Ştefan Iordache played the leading part, received the UNITER Award for Best Show.
The Romanian Academy offered him the Award of the Romanian Academy for Theatre, and in 2000 he received the National Order for Faithful Service, officer rank.
God rest his soul!
UNITER
