Actor Lucian Iancu has passed away at the age of 84

Last night, actor Lucian Iancu, a great star of the Constanța stage and an undeniable name in the history of Constanța and national theater, passed away.

The Constanța State Theatre team stands by the grieving family and mourns the loss suffered by the artistic community in Constanța and the theatrical world.

Lucian Iancu performed over sixty roles on the Constanța stage, ranging from Ianke in Take, Ianke and Cadîr by Victor Ion Popa to Palaestrio in Miles Gloriosus by Plautus, directed by Silviu Purcărete, Agamemnon in Legends of the Atrides, directed by Silviu Purcărete, the Father in The Game of Life and Death in the Ash Desert, directed by Gheorghe Jora—broadcast by Romanian Television—Lunardo in The Boors by Carlo Goldoni, directed by Dominic Dembinski, Mr. Papillon in Rhinoceros by Eugène Ionesco, directed by Laurian Oniga, Jupân Dumitrache in A Stormy Night, directed by Gheorghe Jora, Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, Ulysses in Penthesilea, directed by Cătălina Buzoianu, Dron in The Seagull by A.P. Chekhov, Gaev in The Cherry Orchard, Zorn in The Breakdown by Dürrenmatt, directed by Sorin Militaru, and many others.

He directed several plays, including Revenge by Aleksander Fredro (1980), George Dandin or The Abashed Husband by Molière (1994), I’ll Arrive Tonight by Tudor Mușatescu (1996), A Winter Night’s Dream by Tudor Mușatescu (1998), Scenes from the Life of Constantine the Great by Cristina Tamaș (2002), The Elixir of Love, both written and directed by Lucian Iancu (2002), Take, Ianke, and Cadîr by Victor Ion Popa (2003), and The Last Hour by Mihail Sebastian (2003). His last production at the Constanța State Theatre was The Mews by Alexandru Kirițescu, a long-running show that consistently played to full houses.

He translated and published numerous texts in the magazine Tomis, some of which were later staged.

Before settling in Constanța, he worked at theaters in Botoșani—where he played Cyrano in Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand—and in Piatra Neamț, where he appeared in the renowned productions directed by Andrei Șerban, The Comedy of Errors and The Good Person of Szechwan. He also performed at the Teatrul Mic in Bucharest.

Lucian Iancu served as the director of the Constanța theater twice, from 1984 to 1985 and from 1994 to 1998. He was a professor at Hyperion University and dean of the Faculty of Theatre at Ovidius University. In the 1990s, he was invited to perform in Limoges in Three Sisters by A.P. Chekhov, directed by Silviu Purcărete.

He was part of the golden generation of Constanța theater, alongside Vasile Cojocaru, Eugen Mazilu, Titus Gurgulescu, Liviu Manolache, Virgil Andriescu, Iulian Enache, and Lică Gherghilescu.

Lucian Iancu acted in over twenty films for cinema and television and received numerous awards.

Before the 1989 Revolution, he attempted to flee Romania illegally aboard the freighter captained by Florentin Scalețchi, which was redirected to Istanbul. In 1985, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The day after his escape attempt, orders were given for the theater to burn all posters, programs, and photographs bearing his name or image—over 20,000 items in total. He was a political prisoner for five years, held at Poarta Albă and Aiud Penitentiaries.

On February 2, 2020, the Constanța State Theatre organized a surprise event for Lucian Iancu on his 80th birthday, just before a performance of The Mews by Alexandru Kirițescu, directed by him. This production premiered in 2012 and played to full houses until the theater closed for renovation in 2022.

May God rest Lucian Iancu’s soul in peace. We will always remember him.