ORNEST, OTA

ORNEST, OTA (O. Ohrenstein; 1913–2002), Czech theater director and translator. Ornest was born in Kutná Hora, Bohemia. During World War II, he worked in the Czech section of the BBC, London. On his return to Prague, 1945, he became director of Realistické divadlo ("Realistic Theater"), and from 1950 was simultaneously in charge of three theaters in Prague, the Komorní divadlo ("Chamber Theater"), Divadlo Komedie, and Divadlo ABC. He was also lecturer on theater production at the Academy of Arts, and translated many plays from English. After 1968 Ornest ran afoul of the Communist regime and he was even imprisoned in 1977–78. Ornest's brother, the poet, Jiří Orten\>\> , was killed by the Germans at the beginning of World War II.