Farewell to George Petre
(1956 – 2010)
In the morning of November 11th 2010, in Timişoara, scenographer
GEORGE PETRE
passed away at the age of de 54.

George Petre was born January 26th 1956 in Corneşti (Dâmboviţa County) and graduated from the scenography section of "Nicolae Grigorescu" Academy of Fine Arts in Bucharest in 1980, with a major in scenography, the class of Professor Mihai Tofan.

Between 1980 and 1984, he worked as assistant scenographer for the National Theatre of Timişoara, and as of 1987 he was employed as assistant scenographer and then scenographer by the German State Theatre in Timişoara.

He brought his contribution to nearly 100 productions, for the German State Theatre in Timişoara as well as other local theatres. At GSTT he worked on shows that made history in this theatre, such as Maxim Gorki's "Night Shelter", Friedrich Schiller's "Intrigue and Love" de, A.P Chekhov's "The Seagull", Arpád Göncz's "Hungarian Medea", Olea Muhina's "Tania-Tania", "Bérenger" (an adaptation of Eugène Ionesco and Heinrich Sutermeister), Marin Sorescu's "The Raft of the Medusa", by Marin Sorescu and so on.

George Petre had the special gift of making the stage as an integral part of dramatic discourse, which gave his shows a strong sense of plasticity. Since 1978 his work made the subject of many stagecraft exhibitions in Braşov, Craiova, Bucureşti, Prague, and Timişoara. Some of his works of design and paintings now belong to various collections in Romania, Austria, Switzerland, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Greece, Canada and the USA.

For his work on Samuel Beckett's "Happy Days" (director: Bernd von Bömches), in 1999 he won the Award for Best Scenography at the International Festival of Studio Theatre in Oradea. In 2008 he received a Pro Cultura award from the Timiş County Council, for his outstanding merits in the cultural life of Banat. Productions to which he contributed were performed for countless festivals and tours in Romania, Hungary, Germany, and France.

George Petre's name was connected to the National German Theatre during the last few seasons as well: he signed the scenography for numerous productions, many of which were at the top of the bill for years: Eugène Ionesco's "The Bald Soprano" (director: Alexandru Dabija), Barry Collins's "Judgement" (director: Alexander Hausvater), and Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", (director: Michael Bleiziffer). Only a few months ago, what would be George Petre's last production was premiered: "Fat Men in Skirts" by Nicky Silver (director: Simona Vintilă).

The German State Theatre in Timişoara Collective is profoundly grieved by the loss of an artist who left an unparalleled mark on the Timişoara theatre scene of past three decades, and sends its deepest condolences to his family.