Professor, Octavian SAIU
Octavian Saiu is a distinguished Romanian theater critic, researcher, and academic with a global footprint. He holds two doctoral degrees: one in Theatre Studies from UNATC in Bucharest and another in Comparative Literature from the University of Otago, New Zealand, where he specialized in the works of Samuel Beckett and Eugène Ionesco. An internationally recognized scholar, Saiu has taught at universities across Europe, Asia, and New Zealand. He has held prominent leadership roles, including Adjunct Secretary General of the International Association of Theatre Critics. Since 2004, he has been an essential presence at the Sibiu International Theatre Festival as Chair of the Conferences, moderating dialogues with the world's leading theatrical figures. A prolific author of over ten books on theater theory, Saiu was awarded the UNITER Award for Theatre Criticism in 2013 and the Romanian Order of Cultural Merit in 2020.