REVIEW

“It’s fine, just go in”, tells us the ticket inspector at the entrance. Surprised by his nonchalance about a not working ticket QR code, we make our way through to the waiting area of the Royal District theatre. A new drama – or rather performing arts – piece about the effects on ordinary citizens over the last 25 years awaits us. “Prometheus”, named after the Greek Titan credited for the creation of (wo)man, is the smooth title for an extraordinary play enacted by a young, eight-person ensemble.

While the audience is still filling up the seats, small whistling echoes across the theatre, which is located admits a renovated ruin. The minimalistic beauty comes from the rustic and simple furnishings making the guests pay attention to the brutalistic stage design rather than missing lavish interiors usually common in places, whose name includes “royal”.

The whistle, uttered by the eight actors, starts the drama. The guests are immediately taken apart by the expressive body language exhibited on stage. Data Tavadze, the director, insisted on creating a play showcasing how Georgia’s young independence influenced the character traits and traditions of a generation missing Soviet ideologies in their childhood. The eight actors compromise eight individuals engaging every now and then with each other. Aged the same as the young nation they live in, their experiences range from abstract war memories eliminating sanity to a religious, pious understanding of life.

“The biography of a single person can serve as a concentrated history of an entire country. Where does the border between a biography and history blur?” questions the play’s description. Questions hardly answered, but exponentially overexposed through the play. Dance, movement, water, wind, wood, the repertoires on stage are endless and so is the effect on the brain when walking out from the theatre, wondering how Georgians have changed their lives, their families and their character over the last 25 years, and what will be the next shaping moment for this young nation.

Tickets: tkt.ge

Royal District Theater, Old Tbilisi

By Benjamin Music