Chekhov homage, German postwar introspection among Tbilisi Festival of Theatre headliners

A dazzling acrobatic tribute to famed Russian author Anton Chekhov from Compagnia Finzi Pasca, a tale of social morals courtesy of the Lithuanian National Drama and a solo show from the Berliner Ensemble will bring artistry to the stage of the Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre starting next week.

Bringing foreign and local troupes to the capital city, organisers have revealed the full programme of the event in the run-up to the opening on Monday, with companies from across Europe and beyond flocking to the city.

Among the headlining shows is Donka: A Letter to Chekhov, a “surreal world [...] where anything can, and often does, happen” (Critical Dance) in a nod to the celebrated writer.

With a circus-like performance, the production was staged in 2009 to mark 150 years since the birth of Chekhov and is a co-production between the Swiss-based Compagnia Finzi Pasca and the Chekhov International Theatre Festival in Moscow.

See a teaser video for 'Donka: A Letter to Chekhov' from the Compagnia Finzi Pasca troupe below:

Running without narrative or a protagonist, the colourful staging combines athletic performances from actors and occasional references to the great late writer’s works.

[T]here’s [Chekhov’s] love of fishing, best seen in a mass angling scene where the rods and lines dance like half a dozen Loie Fullers. In Russian, a ‘donka’ is a bell attached to a fishing pole that signals a bite” — Critical Dance

In another major staging for the festival, the Lithuanian National Drama Theatre will bring their take on modern political hypocrisy and cynicism based on the 17th century classic Tartuffe by Moliere.

Coming from director Oskaras Koršunovas, the adaptation “supplements [the comedy] with pertinent cultural contexts and allusions to politics of today” (Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre) in its 110-minute runtime.

[T]he deception of Tartuffe takes place not only inside the content of the play, when Tartuffe makes a fool of Orgon, but also in its form, when the actors are playing with the audience” — Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre

The Tin Drum’ brings a solo actor’s performance for introspection on the dark decades of the 20th century German history. Photo: Berliner Ensemble.

The Tin Drum, a “staple” of the Berliner Ensemble repertory, is also in the international programme of the 11th edition of the festival, its stage tale told by actor Nico Holonics.

Centred around the perspective of character Oskar Matzerath from a controversial novel by Nobel Prize-winning Günter Grass, a work considered a major piece of German postwar literature.

All his life, Günter Grass felt responsible for the horrors committed in the name of Germany. [The Tin Drum] is an attempt to render transparent the mechanisms of his own seduction by nationalist and fascist ideologies and to sound a drum of dissent” — Berliner Ensemble

The festival’s wide programme will also feature productions involving The Revolution Orchestra from Israel, Tbilisi’s Royal District Theatre, Studio Wayne McGregor from the United Kingdom and more.

The full programme of the festival, which will run on an extensive schedule between September 23-October 24, can be accessed here.