Culture ministry launches programme to support independent theatre critics

The long-neglected professional scene of independent theatre critics in Georgia received a boost on Monday after the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Youth announced the launch of a programme aimed at providing financial support for critics of stage art in the country.

Aiming to "achieve financial and institutional independence" for the professionals, the project will provide a programme of commission fees for their works from the ministry's budget. The move is seen as an instrument to ensure financial means for stage art critics through their work - an outstanding issue for the theatre field in the country for decades.

Responding to the long-standing problem, the ministry said many professional theatre critics were forced to join theatre troupes instead of pursuing critical work, due to a lack of income sources for works of stage art review and critique. The national culture body said this reality hindered development of professional theatre reviews in the country.

The initiative will launch with a three-month initial phase and be extended starting next year. Photo via theatrelife.ge.

The ministry will provide opportunities for stage art critics to cover ongoing processes of theatre scene in Georgia, visiting venues in Tbilisi and regions of the country to prepare and publish articles for the programme. Their work will be available on the theatrelife.ge online platform.

The three-month initial phase of the project will be followed by a continued financing of the project from the ministry starting next year, while the critics will also be selected for a monitoring group that will analyse quality of fulfilment of election programmes by artistic directors of Georgian theatre companies.

In its announcement, the culture ministry said the scene of theatre critics in Georgia included around 30 professionals from different generations. These reviewers have mostly received only occasional opportunities to publish articles for media platforms, often working thanks to their enthusiasm for the field, in the absence of regular and sustainable profession of stage art reviewing.

The ministry will carry out the newly announced project in cooperation with the Union of Theatre Critics of Georgia and the Centre for Research on Contemporary Georgian Theatre.