Frejka, Jirí

Born Apr. 6, 1904, in Outechovicé; died Oct. 27, 1952, in Prague. Czechoslovak stage director. One of the founders of revolutionary theater in Czechoslovakia.

Frejka graduated from the philosophy department of Charles University and the drama division of the Prague Conservatory. In 1925, with a cast of conservatory graduates, he presented The Circus of Dandin (based on Molière’s Georges Dandin). This work, which employed various techniques of circus and popular entertainment, became established in the Czech avant-garde repertoire. When revolutionary-minded figures in the arts founded the society Devětsil, Frejka organized a theater section consisting of young actors. He experimented with new theatrical forms in such productions as Aristophanes’ Thesmophoriazusae, which was presented at the Osvobozené Theater in 1926.

From the late 1920’s through the 1930’s, Frejka worked at the National Theater, and from 1945 to 1950 he worked at the Theater of Královské Vinohrady in Prague. He taught stage direction at the Academy of Fine Arts from 1946 to 1952.