Digital display marks Georgian Theatre Day

A digital display hosted by the National Archives of Georgia is marking Georgian Theatre Day today, with photographs, sketches and other material from the history of the local stage art exhibited.

Led by miniatures created for the 1850 staging of The Family Settlement - the maiden Georgian theatre production based on the play by playwright, poet and journalist Giorgi Eristavi - the online presentation was unveiled by the archives body.

Created by artist George Corradini, the artworks, created as miniatures for the manuscript, show stage actors Mariam Eristavi and Anastasia Orbeliani, cast in two of the play's roles.

Famed actor Ramaz Chkhikvadze is seen in a 1975 performance of Bertolt Brecht's The Caucasian Chalk Circle by the Shota Rustaveli State Academic Theatre. Photo: National Archives of Georgia.

• See the collection of material tracing the history of professional Georgian theatre here

More miniatures for the comedy staging are followed by photographs from the second half of the 19th century including Woe From Wit - based on Alexander Griboyedov's play and featuring actor Valerian Gunia, a bill of the Georgian Drama Society repertory for the season of 1892, sketches of Soviet-era stagings, and more.

The exposition traces an overall history of the professional stage art in Georgia, from its humble beginnings under the Tsarist Russian rule to its emergence as a phenomenon recognised beyond the country's borders even during the restricted Soviet era.

The exhibits in the online display come from the vaults of the National Archives venue based in Tbilisi.