Tbilisi welcomes Gift, an International Festival of Arts

A month-long festival showcasing the best of the country's theatre performances is about to begin.

Top performers from near and far are gathering in Georgia's capital city this month to take part in the country's leading theatre festival.

The annual Georgian International Festival of Arts (GIFT) will open on October 17. The month-long celebration will bring the best of visiting arts to Tbilisi, as well as share Georgia's unique cultural profile with the world.

Since the festival's inception 17 years ago, the event has hosted more than 200 international visiting groups and companies.

This year the GIFT corresponded with 450th anniversary of the birth of legendary poet and playwright William Shakespeare.

Organisers said this year's GIFT festival had a influential program that highlighted world leading theatre companies and artists while calling for peace, progress and togetherness.

This year’s program was remarkable for its number of world famous artists and diversity of art genres. Organisers said other ‘A list’ festivals would envy the performances the Georgian audience would see at the festival, including Peter Brook, Irina Brook, Dmitry Krymov, Cullberg Ballet, Anoushka Shankar and more.

This year, on the public holiday Tbilisoba, a French circus performance of Herbert's Dream will be presented at an outdoor comcert. The theatrical show will start in Abanotubani and end in Europe Square.

The festival will end with a play by Andrei Konchalovsky titled 'Three Sisters’ and the same director's last film "The Postman's White Nights", which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

The GIFT festival was accepted and recognised worldwide. It was the only Georgian festival to be a member of the International Festival and Events Association (IFEA).

Originally the GIFT festival was dedicated to great Georgian theatre master Michael Tumanishvili and showcase the unique theatric culture of the country.