Theatre director Data Tavadze triumphs at European festival

Young Georgian theatre director Data Tavadze has been recognised as one of the most promising European theatrical creators after being awarded the principal prize at a German festival on Sunday.

Tavadze received the main award of the Fast Forward 2016 European Festival for Young Stage Directors, which was held from November 24-27 in Braunschweig in central Germany.

The Georgian director received the award for his production Women of Troy, which was staged by Tavadze at Tbilisi's Royal District Theatre.

See the promo video of Data Tavadze's theatre play 'Women of Troy' below:

Tavadze was one of eight young directors from European countries who were selected to feature at the four-day festival. The awards ceremony was held on November 27.

Judges of the Fast Forward 2016 festival said they were impressed with how Tavadze interpreted the story of an ancient Greek tragedy by 5th Century BC playwright Euripides to convey stories of women in ethnic conflicts in the Caucasus in the 1990s.

What impressed us was the high sensitivity and precision that he showed in dealing with [...] the audience and, above all, the language that got a musical quality," said the jury while explaining why they awarded the Georgian with the principal prize.

A scene from the play 'Women of Troy'. Photo from Pawel Sosnowski/Royal District Theatre.

The main prize of the German festival also included an opportunity for Tavadze to stage a play at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden theatre in east Germany.

Women of Troy has received wide acclaim for its performances in Georgia and abroad, with the Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre in Poland calling the production "stunningly beautiful" last year.

Born in 1989, Tavadze has worked as an actor and theatre director in Georgia. He joined Tbilisi's Royal District Theatre in 2008.

This year's Fast Forward festival was held in Braunschweig for the sixth time.