Tbilisi Puppet Theatre pays homage to June 13 flood victims

Tbilisi’s State Puppet Theatre will pay homage to the human and animal victims of the June 13 flood in Georgia’s capital city by staging a play in their honour.

The Theatre announced details of the play to its social network followers today, announcing "numerous stories and experiences” would be collected and combined in the production about the flood that claimed the lives of 22 people as well as animals from the Tbilisi Zoo.

The announcement also said the project on personal memories of the natural disaster would then become part of the Theatre’s repertoire.

Heavy rain on June 13 caused the Vere River to break, flooding an area near Heroes Square. As news of human casualties broke, it was revealed many of the animals caught up in the flooded Zoo drowned in their cages and enclosed areas.

Winner of the Grand Prize at the Unima International Festival of Puppet Theatres in Armenia in June, the Tbilisi State Puppet Theatre this year participated in the Lincoln Centre Festival in New York.

Founded in 1934 by People’s Artist of Georgia Giorgi Mikeladze, the Puppet Theatre staged a number of productions in recent years, including 2013 plays Fantasy by David Matskhonashvili and A Crossroads of Colourful Dreams by Elene Matskhonashvili.

The Theatre’s most recent premiere was A Ray of Sunlight by director Vakhtang Koridze on Sunday, with proceeds from the performance transferred to the fund for helping those affected by the June 13 flood.