Getting ready for Tbilisi

The Tbilisi International Festival opens on 27 September with a production of Romeo and Juliet by the renowned director Oskaras Korshunovas from Lithuania. It seems like a crazy idea but I'm going out there just to see that show and then returning the next day. I blame Ian Herbert - it was him that said it was a must see show.

My real visit is a week later to take in some of the international work, spend a few days relaxing and then spend an intensive four days over the weekend of 9 - 12 October at the Georgian Theatre showcase - 19 shows over the four days in nine different theatre spaces. The picture is of the Marjanishvili Theatre; Eka Mazmishvili, General Director of the theatre, is the Director of the festival.


I'm particularly pleased to be introducing directors and producers from the UK to the variety and vibrancy of Georgian theatre. Thanks to Arts Council England East, there'll be a group of 8 from the East of England: playwright Charlotte Keatley with the Artistic Director of Watford Palace, Brigid Larmour; Jennifer Sutherland and Louise Callow, the adventurous young producers from Scamp Theatre; Peter Rowe, Artistic Director of New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich; master storyteller Mike Maran; rural touring champion Ivan Cutting from Eastern Angles; and Oliver Jones, the Associate Director at Trestle. They'll be joined by John McGrath, the Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Wales, and Gavin Stride, another rural touring champion from Farnham Maltings who joined me in Tbilisi three years ago nad has wanted to return ever since. And there may be others!


It's difficult to know what to expect from the visit. All the group have an interest in seeing international work, obviously, and some of them have specific projects in mind but they'll all have a chance to meet writers, directors and actors over many glasses of wine and you never know what might emerge. I'll be asking them to contribute to this blog so you can see their impressions.

One show I'm particularly pleased to see in the showcase is the puppet production of Faust directed by Levan Tsuladze. This show was originally produced in 2000 at the Basement Theatre but has been out of the repertoire for a few years. Now with new puppets by Nino Namicheishvili it's ready for a triumphant return. Seeing Faust was a fixture in my visits to Tbilisi and I must have seen the show ten times but there's always room for another viewing! Levan's latest show with puppets is also a must see - The Lady With a Dog, based on a short story by Chekhov, is a magnificent show with four actors and seven puppeteers.

Watch this space!