Georgian theatre group opens Christmas season in US
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A Georgian theatre company in the United States (US) that was founded by a Georgian husband and wife team has launched its Christmas season theatre program with an adaption of Beauty and the Beast.
From December 3 to January 11, Synetic Theatre in Washington D.C., will perform a Gothic adaption of the French classic fairytale.
Photo from the play 'Beauty and the Beast'. Photo by Synetic Theatre.
I wanted to produce Beauty and the Beast because the story is, quite simply, one of the most well-loved and well-known in the history of literature. I think that speaks to the overall power of the story, and I felt it was our turn to give it a try and bring our own style to it,” theatre co-founder and producer Paata Tsikurishvili told the Crystal City website.
Irinka Kavsadze as Belle. Photo by Synetic Theatre.
The theatre website said the classic fairytale would be transformed into an inspiring Gothic romance, drawing on the darkness and sensuality of the original French fairytale. "Athletic actors and innovative theatrical effects will transform this classic story into a visual dream full of wonder, mystery and redemption,” it read.
During the 2014-15 season, Synetic Theatre will produce three other new main stage shows - The Island of Dr. Moreau, Much Ado about Nothing and Hunting Cockroaches.
Irinka Kavsadze as Belle, Vato Tsikurishvili as The Beast. Photo by Synetic Theatre.
Synetic Theatre was founded in 2001 by Georgian couple Tsikurishvili and his wife Irina and has a predominantly Georgian cast. The shows offered contemporary theatre combined with traditions of the Caucusus with distinctly American styles to tell classic stories through movement, music, technology and visual arts.
At the beginning of the year the theatre founders were named Washingtonians of the Year for outstanding service to their community. The couple were recognized with the prestigious honour on January 15 by Broadway World magazine for "being local heroes in their commitment to making the Washington DC community a better place through boundary-pushing theatre.
Each year Synetic Theatre produced several mainstage productions, a handful of family series productions and numerous community programs to reach an audience of about 36,000 patrons.
To date, Synetic’s productions have earned 94 Helen Hayes nominations and won 25 Helen Hayes Awards for directing, choreography, acting, costume design and best play. The awards are named after the famed actressHelen Hayes to recognise excellence in professional theater in the Washington D.C.
American theatre critics are raving after Synetic Theater Georgian cofounders chose to make Washington their artistic home after the company performed a wordless adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the US capital last week.
A Georgian couple living in the United States have been named as Washingtonians of the Year for outstanding service to their community.
Georgian-founded, US-based movement and arts performance group Synetic Theater has gained dozens of nomination for prestigious theatre awards that recognise excellence in professional theatre in America.
More than 400,000 people visited Georgia’s 52 theatres in 2014, latest statistics reveal. Meanwhile, 25 Georgian theatres took their performances beyond the country's borders and staged 161 plays in 22 foreign countries.
Georgian-founded, US-based movement and arts performance group Synetic Theater has been awarded several prestigious theatre awards that recognise excellence in professional theatre in America.
Victor Hugo’s epic novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame premiered by the Georgian stage director Paata Tsikurishvili this May has been reviewed as one of the best shows in the United States’ capital of Washington.
United States-based Georgian choreographers Irina and Vato Tsikurishvili have been announced among the nominees of the Helen Hayes Awards, one of the principal theatre prizes in the US.
US-based Georgian actor and Synetic Theater co-founder Irina Tsikurishvili has been named in Outstanding Performances in Washington, DC area by the staff of the DC Metro Theater Arts review website.