Biography

Eugène Ionesco

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Overview

Born
November 26, 1909 · Slatina, Romania
Died
March 29, 1994 · Paris, France (undisclosed)
Birth name
Eugen Ionescu

Mini bio

In 1909, Eugen Ionescu was born in Slatina, Romania to a lawyer, Eugen Ionescu Sr. and a French lady by the name of Therese Zicard. In 1913 they moved to France, but in 1924 when his parents divorced, he returned with his father to Romania. He studied in Craiova and in 1929 he attended the University of Bucharest to study Literature and Philosophy. In 1938 he moved back to Paris so that he could finish his doctorate thesis. Only in the 1950s did he find his new literary identity, when Eugene Ionesco (as the French spell it) became founder of the avant-garde 'theatre of the absurd'. His most popular plays are "the Bald Soprano", "the Lesson", "the Chairs", "The Killer", and "Rhinoceros". Eugene Ionesco later died in 1994 and was buried in the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris.
- IMDb mini biography by: Alex Darie <alexd@ashtrom.co.il>

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In 2015, his play "Jack or Submission" (Jacques ou la Soumission) was staged by THEAMA, the first and internationally acclaimed Greek inclusive theatre company composed by both disabled and non-disabled actors, directed by its founder, the renowned actor and director Vassilis Oikonomou, which was presented in Athens and on tour in other cities of Greece. The fine cast of this acclaimed production included Aimiliani Avraam as Jack, Panos Zournatzidis as Roberta, Efi Toumba as Mother Jack, Michalis Grammatas as Jacqueline, Manos Triantafillakis as Father Jack, Michalis Tamboukas as Father Robert, Giorgos Iliakis as Grandfather Jack, Mary Stamatoula as Grandmother Jack and Maria Mourelatou together with Katerina Kontomarkou as Mother Robert. Panos Zournatzidis was also the assistant director of the production and Marina Besiri participated in alternate cast for the role of Grandmother Jack. The screening of the production on the Hellenic Parliament TV constituted the first Greek TV broadcast of work by disabled artists on prime-time zone at 21.00 also with SDH on July 17, 2018.
His play, "The Lesson," was awarded the 1990 Drama Logue Award for Outstanding Production at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
Buried in the exclusive "Montparnasse" cemetery Paris, France.
Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors". New Revision Series, Vol. 132, pp. 196-202. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005.
Member of the 'Official Comeptition' jury at the 42nd Venice International Film Festival in 1985.