Tbilisi theatre presents award-winning show in Asia

An international theatre festival in southern Asia will showcase a special performance by the Tbilisi-based Vaso Abashidze Music and Drama State Theatre to its audiences later this week.

The Georgian theatre troupe will perform alongside other theatre companies from all over the world at the Colombo International Theatre Festival in Sri Lanka starting on Friday, April 1.

Theatre groups from Sri Lanka, Germany, India and Italy will present their contemporary productions at the event, while the Georgian company will perform a piece originally designed for professional ballet dancers.

A scene from Carmen, performed by the Vaso Abashidze Music and Drama State Theatre. Photo from the Theatre/Facebook.

Audiences at the Asian festival will see the troupe's award-winning version of the famous ballet Carmen Suite, co-produced with the Moving Theatre of the United Kingdom (UK).

The company called its production a "choreographic drama" to underline the mix of "body language and acting" in the show.

Noted by its performers for its "completely modern vision of the characters", the premiere of Carmen was held on September 23, 2012 in London, UK.

Actors of the Vaso Abashidze Music and Drama State Theatre perform at the Tribeca Performing Arts Centre in January 2016. Photo by Eva's Design & Photography/Facebook.

The show has since been travelling to theatre festivals around the world and was nominated for the best dance performance at the 2015 Fringe World Festival in Perth, Australia. The adaptation also won the Special Prize at the 2015 Ankara International Theatre Festival.

The Colombo International Theatre Festival will also feature a workshop by the staging choreographer of Carmen,Kote Purtseladze.

Recently the Vaso Abashidze Music and Drama State Theatre performed a production titled Introspection - The Story About Us in New York's Tribeca Performing Arts Centre.

The January 9 production, directed by David Doiashvili, narrated the story of Georgia's history from the Soviet era to contemporary times.

The Sri Lankan festival will run until April 6. The full program of the festival can be found here.