Romanian theatre designer, painter, and graphic artist. Mircea Nicolau designed his first theatre productions at Teatrul Nottara (Nottara Theatre) in Bucharest. He is principally known for his style, his prodigious imagination, and his prolific work created from 1968 to 1986 at the Galaţi Puppet Theatre (today called Teatrul de păpuşi Gulliver [lier]Gulliver Puppet Theatre[/lier]). From 1986 to 1988, he designed the productions directed by Cristian Pepino at Ţăndărică Puppet Theatre (today, Teatrul de animaţie Ţăndărică). He left Romania in 1988 for Germany where he worked as a painter.

Among his theatre designs are: O fetiță caută un cântec (The Girl Who Seeks a Song), written by Alecu Popovici and directed by Ştefan Lenkisch in Plovdiv, Bulgaria; Turandot (1972), Prometheus (1973), Pasărea albastră (The Blue Bird), Amnarul (The Tinderbox), directed by Traian Ghiţescu-Ciurea; Harap Alb, Trandafirul și inelul (The Rose and the Ring), directed by Cristian Pepino; Noapte de carnaval (Carnival Night) by Hans Sachs, produced in Magdeburg and directed by Margareta Niculescu.

Mircea Nicolau collaborated on the creation of three productions in Damascus. He received The Special Award for his design for Sînziana și Pepelea (Sînziana and Pepelea) at the PIF festival in Zagreb in 1982, Inimă Rece (Cold Heart, 1982), and Aventuri cu Scufița Roșie (Adventures with Red Riding Hood, 1986), directed by Cristian Pepino.

He designed the characters and sets for the series The Adventures of the Little Boy directed by Ştefan Lenkisch for Swedish television. His work was shown in various theatre design exhibitions held in Bucharest, Prague, Havana, and Novi Sad (Serbia).

In 1983, Mircea Nicolau was awarded the ATM Award (Asociația Oamenilor de Teatru și Muzică Association of Theatre and Music Artists) for the designs of Coroana câmpului (The Field Crown), performed at the Galaţi Puppet Theatre (see Teatrul de păpuși Gulliver [lier]Gulliver Puppet Theatre[/lier]) and Anotimpurile (The Seasons), at the Teatrul pentru copii și tineret Constanța (Constanţa Theatre for Children and Youth).

(See Romania.)