The artistic career of actor Virgil Ogasanu, his theatrical legacy, and especially the celebration of his 86th birthday will be honored on Wednesday, as of 7:00 p.m. on the stage of the 'Liviu Ciulei' Hall of the Bulandra Theatre in Bucharest, during the event 'Virgil Ogasanu - A Life Dedicated to the Stage'.

'It will be an evening about friendship, about the 'Bulandra' School and about the theatre that always brings us together,' the organizers announce on the institution's website.

Virgil Ogasanu will be joined by former stage partners and colleagues from film sets, in an event created by director Vlad Cristache.

The host of the evening will be actress Daniela Nane.

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Actor Virgil Ogasanu was born on June 17, 1940 in Turnu Severin. He graduated from the Institute of Theatre and Film Arts in Bucharest in 1964, in the class of professor Beate Fredanov.

He made his debut at the Youth Theatre in Piatra Neamt, in Mihail Sebastian's play 'The Star With No Name'.

Since 1965, he has been assigned to the Bulandra Theatre, where he has performed for more than 40 years. In fact, between 1994 and 1996, Virgil Ogasanu served as the theatre's director. On the Bulandra stage, he established himself as a powerful actor and was cast in numerous productions, performing both classical and modern roles - in works by Caragiale, Goldoni, Molière, Chekhov, Ibsen, Eugène Ionesco, Pirandello, Dürrenmatt, Dostoevsky and Marin Sorescu, societateamuzicala.ro reports.

He stood out in productions directed by Catalina Buzoianu: Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello, Scandal in Palermo by Carlo Goldoni, Petru by Vlad Zografi, Turandot by Carlo Gozzi, Odyssey 2001, Richard III Is Forbidden by Matei Visniec, and The Father by August Strindberg.

He also worked with other major directors, including Liviu Ciulei, Lucian Pintilie, Valeriu Moisescu, Silviu Purcarete and Ion Cojar, appearing in: A Stormy Night by I. L. Caragiale (directed by Lucian Pintilie), The Cherry Orchard by A. P. Chekhov (directed by Lucian Pintilie), The Government Inspector by Gogol (directed by Lucian Pintilie), Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare, The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky (directed by Liviu Ciulei), and The Comic Theatre by Carlo Goldoni (directed by Silviu Purcarete).

In addition to his work in theatre and film, Virgil Ogasanu was also a gifted mentor, serving as a professor at the Theatre Faculty of Hyperion University in Bucharest.

At the Romanian Comedy Festival Gala in June 2013, he received the award for Best Actor for the role of Zaharia Trahanache in I. L. Caragiale's 'A Lost Letter'.

On May 30, 2002, Virgil Ogasanu was decorated with the National Order 'Faithful Service', in the rank of Knight, 'for his prestigious artistic career and the exceptional talent with which he brought to life the characters he portrayed in films and on stage, on the occasion of the celebration of a century of Romanian cinema'.

He was married to actress Valeria Ogasanu. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Petronius Craiu; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)