Art Palace expo highlights Shakespeare’s legacy in Georgia

A special exhibition at Tbilisi’s Art Palace museum will honour legendary playwright William Shakespeare when it opens on Saturday.

The theatre design exhibition, titled Shakespeare in Georgian Theatre, will present sketches and paintings depicting Shakespeare's plays staged as theatre productions in Georgia over the decades.

Launching on Saturday, September 10, the expo will include works by prominent late Georgian theatre designers David Kakabadze, Solomon Virsaladze and Petre Otskheli.

The month-long exhibition will also feature works by young artists created within the Shakespeare and Rustaveli Meet in Georgia project. The project launched in April this year to raise awareness of the creative legacy of Shakespeare and Georgia's prominent medieval poet Shota Rustaveli with the young generation.

A 1964 Soviet Georgian poster promoting a performance of William Shakespeare's comedy 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' at Rustaveli Theatre in Tbilisi. Photo from Art Palace/Facebook.

The Art Palace exhibition coincides with the publication of the first ever catalogue of Georgian theatre posters and stage designs for Shakespeare plays, staged in the country across different eras. Also titled Shakespeare in Georgian Theatre, the 200-page catalogue features nearly 300 illustrations detailing visual creations for stage productions made by top theatre designers.

The book was printed with financial support from the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia and is available in Georgian and English languages.

The catalogue and exhibition were part of a series of occasions to mark 400 years since the death of Shakespeare in 1616.

This year also marked 850 years since the birth of Rustaveli, whose literary legacy stems from his famous 12th Century poem The Knight in the Panther's Skin.

The exhibition will run at Tbilisi’s Art Palace until October 10.