Otomar Krejča

Who was Otomar Krejča?

Otomar Krejča was a Czech theater director and dissident.

Krejca was born in Skrýšov, Pelhřimov, Czechoslovakia, on November 23, 1921. In 1956, Krejca became a member of the Prague National Theater as an actor. He later became a theater director at the landmark theater, which opened in Prague in 1881. Krejča co-founded the Za Branou Theater in Prague in 1965.

Krejca and his work was banned from following the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, which ended a period of political liberalization known as the Prague Spring. The Czechoslovakian government would not allow Krejca to work in the country, and he was only allowed to work abroad. He went on to direct more than 40 theater productions, including in Austria, Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, Finland and Sweden. Krejca returned to work in his homeland following the fall of the Czechoslovakian Communist government in 1989. He was bestowed numerous Czech and foreign awards for his work.

Otomar Krejča died in Prague on November 6, 2009, at the age of 87.