prof. MgA. Jan Burian
In 1984, he graduated from the Prague DAMU in theatre direction, and in his last year of studies he worked as a director at the Satirical Theatre Večerní Brno. He took his first job as a director at the O. Stibora Theatre in Olomouc. In 1986, he directed for the first time as a guest in Pilsen, where he accepted a job the following year. Until 1989, when he became the head of the Pilsen Drama Theatre, he prepared a number of notable productions of controversial titles there (M. Bulgakov: Adam and Eve, Karel Steigerwald: Tatarská pouť, A. Kazantsev: Eve's Dreams – Czechoslovak premiere). In 1990, he staged the Czechoslovak premiere of The Temptation of Václav Havel. In 1991–95, he worked as a director at the Vinohrady Theatre.
In May 1995, he became the director of the multi-ensemble JK Tyl Theatre in Pilsen, whose repertoire includes drama, opera, ballet, musicals and operetta. He remained in this position until his appointment as director of the National Theatre in Prague from the 2013/14 season.
His directing on this stage covers a wide range of genres, from great classical titles (Shakespeare, Lorca, Miller, O'Neill) to contemporary Czech and world drama. He has also directed several opera titles (Rusalka, Carmen, Lucerna, Troubadour, Jenůfě). He presented two plays by Pavel Kohout in their world premiere in Pilsen – Zeros and Arthur's Bolero. He then staged Zeros at the invitation of the director of MCHAT, Oleg Tabakov, in 2002 as the first Czech director to visit this world-famous stage.
Since 1990, he has been a teacher of directing at the Faculty of Theatre at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, and since 1992, he has been the head of the Department of Dramatic Theatre; in 2015, he was appointed professor.
He is the director of the International Theatre Festival, the most important theatre festival in the Czech Republic. He was vice-president of the national centre ITI – UNESCO and vice-president of the Union of Employers' Unions. He is a member of the Association of Professional Theatres of the Czech Republic and was newly elected treasurer of the Opera Europa organisation. He represents Czech professional theatres in negotiations at the national and European level, his managerial work is positively evaluated in the national and international context. Jan Burian has a significant contribution to promoting the construction of a new theatre in Pilsen.